Seven Months From Home
by dilaurentisdrake
Summary: Alison and Emily are out on their own for the first time, having moved their family to Georgia while Emily attends school to change careers. Life after AD isn't as simple as they imagined; on top of the usual responsibilities and uncertainty of adulthood, there may just be another mystery waiting to drag them under. Emison with appearances from other liars.
1. Chapter 1

Seven months.

In seven months, their family of four would be back in Rosewood, readjusting to daily routines. In just over ten months, they would retrieve the gorgeous white gowns that had already been put on hold and have a joint bachelorette party the night before their meticulously planned autumn wedding.

Ali's heart leapt in her chest every time she thought of it- Emily standing directly across from her in a wedding dress, looking impossibly beautiful; Spencer guiding Grace and Lily down the aisle as they clutch bunches of rose petals in their tiny toddler hands; and, finally, exchanging paper tickets for a flight to Paris. All of that would be hers in ten months and fourteen days. But they needed to survive these seven months first.

"We should be almost there," Emily said from her spot behind the steering wheel.

Ali looked down at the GPS on her phone and nodded. "Any minute now."

Dusk had settled over the highway hours ago, and by now it was too dark to make out much aside from the black blur of passing trees. Alison couldn't recognize the winding Georgia roads of her childhood. She'd expected some sort of familiarity. Maybe the scenery would look more welcoming during the day.

Emily glanced over at her, seeming to sense her uncertainty.

"Ali…I understand if you're still feeling nervous about staying here," she said softly. "I know it's our first time out on our own, and it might be a little tough for the first few months not having my mom around to help us, but I just thought this was our best move when you consider the cost of tuition at other schools. We're saving so much getting my certifications here, and I guess I could've looked more into online classes, but-"

"Em, stop," Ali cut off her rambling with a playful eye roll. "We're a family. I would've followed you anywhere you wanted to go."

Emily smiled at that and reached over to hold her fiancée's hand. "Thank you for understanding. I just can't see myself coaching for the rest of my life."

"You should do whatever makes you happy," Ali said as she traced circles over tanned skin.

"And I want a higher salary, for them," Emily added, turning her head to take a quick glance at the sleeping baby girls in the back seat. "I just want to give them the world, you know? I don't want them to ever have to worry about anything."

Alison grinned and shook her head slightly. "I don't know if it's possible they won't ever have to worry about _anything_ , but I can promise you we're going to give them an amazing childhood. I already know from my family what not to do as a parent. That's half the battle, right?"

They sat in comfortable silence for another few minutes, until they were pulling into a long, gravel driveway and the GPS announced they had reached their destination.

"So here we are. Home sweet home, at least for a while," Emily declared.

Though it was hard to make out the finer details of the house in the low light, Ali could already tell it looked different than it had appeared in photos. The white paneling on the outside looked older, more dated than expected, but it also looked larger in person. The Southern style wraparound porch reminded her of summers spent at her grandmother's house.

As soon as the car was parked, the twins opened their eyes and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, disoriented, before whimpering to be held.

"Hey, it's okay. Mama's got you," Emily cooed, opening the side door and unbuckling Lily.

Alison walked to the opposite side and picked up Grace. She held her close to her chest as she squirmed and planted a kiss to the soft blonde hair covering her head.

"Can you take them inside?" Emily asked. She carefully handed Lily over to Alison and fished in her bag for the house key. "I want to unpack everything we need before the delivery truck comes."

"Yeah, of course," Ali said. "Just worry about unpacking the overnight essentials. We can deal with everything else tomorrow."

* * *

As it turned out, the previous renters had done a decent job cleaning the house. The old hardwood floors were clear of dust, and aside from some burned out light bulbs and a few areas that needed to be baby-proofed, there wasn't any maintenance work to be done.

Emily and Alison set up a queen-size air mattress in what would become the master bedroom after the furniture arrived and placed their daughters' portable playpens in the room directly across the hall. It was far past the twins' bed time, but their extended nap in the car made them reluctant to go to sleep. Instead, they pulled a pile of stuffed animals onto the air mattress in between their mommies who had already given up on watching the movie streaming on Emily's laptop.

The girls had just turned one last week. To Emily, it seemed impossible a year had passed since she and Ali first brought them home. An entire year. Almost two years since Ali drove her to the fertility clinic after finding out she was donating her eggs, neither having the faintest idea where that decision would lead them.

Emily's blood still boiled when she thought too much about how her children had come into the world; the pained look on Ali's face when she told her what AD -no, Alex Drake- had done to her at Welby wasn't something she could easily forget.

But she tried not to think too much about it. Instead, she focused on the positives, like what Hanna said to her after finding out she and Ali were a couple.

" _Did you already know something was up? Between me and Ali?" Emily asked._

" _Aside from you two moving in together and deciding to have a baby?" Hanna responded, raising an eyebrow before taking a sip of her coffee._

" _Hanna," Emily sighed. She leaned forward and lowered her voice so the other customers in the Brew couldn't listen in. "You know we didn't exactly choose this."_

" _You didn't choose for it to happen, but you chose what to do about it. And, I don't know, it just seems like there needs to be a lot of love there already to handle it like you have. This situation would tear most people apart._

" _And to answer your question," Hanna continued. "Yeah, I already knew. I've known for years. I'm just glad you guys finally figured it out."_

"I think they're finally wearing out," Ali said, bringing Emily back to the present. Lily rested her head against Alison's chest, one arm thrown around her in a half hug while the other held onto a stuffed bear. Grace had assumed a position stretched out diagonally between her and Alison. She could barely keep her eyes open as she sucked on her pacifier.

"Looks like it's bed time," Emily said, scooping up Grace.

"No no no," the tiny girl protested tiredly.

"No!" Lily echoed, and Emily exchanged a glance with Alison over what had become a nightly occurrence since they learned the word. They would kick and cry and struggle as one-year-olds do, but it never lasted long.

Just like every other night, both babies were knocked out in a matter of minutes despite their attempts to stay awake. Emily and Alison carried them to the other room, settled them into the temporary cots, and took a moment to admire them before turning off the lights.

"Lily's eyes are getting darker," Alison noted as they made their way back to their room and settled down onto the mattress. "It's like they haven't decided yet whether they want to be brown or blue."

"I hope they keep their blonde hair," Emily said. She reached over and tucked a piece of Alison's hair behind her ear. It was the same beautiful golden shade their daughters were blessed with. Ali looked back at her, and it still amazed Emily to this day how she could see Alison's features visibly soften when they were together like this.

It was quiet for a long moment. There wasn't a sound in the house, or the whole world for that matter. It was just the two of them laying a few inches apart, and Emily knew what would come next. Her stomach fluttered in anticipation.

Ali brushed the rest of the stuffed toys off the mattress so she could move in closer. Emily met her halfway with a kiss, and they both knew it wasn't a quick, goodnight, we'll talk in the morning type of kiss. It was deeper than that, full of intention and a guarantee they'd be up a while longer.

Ali fumbled with the buttons on Emily's oversized sleep shirt. After it was over her head and cast aside, she paused and said, "You know, I haven't spent more than a week away from Rosewood since I was on the run. All those years wishing I could escape, only to realize I never wanted to leave again."

Emily paused at the unexpected words. She'd been planting kisses along Alison's neck and jawline, but now she pulled back and looked at her fiancée in concern.

"No…I didn't think about that," Emily said tentatively, wondering why she was bringing this up now when everything seemed to be going so well. "If something's wrong and you don't want to be here, you need to tell me, okay? I'm serious."

Ali still seemed relatively nonchalant. "Relax. I was just gonna say it feels different now."

"What do you mean?"

Ali tugged her own long sleeve t-shirt over her head and pulled Emily close to her again. "I'm not alone this time, and I feel like we're going to be just fine."

She kissed Emily again, slowly, and the latter sighed in relief. "You've gotta stop doing this," Emily said after they'd parted, only half-joking. She reached around Ali's back to unhook her bra. "You scared me."

"There's nothing to be scared of anymore," she said in that soft, sweet voice she reserved for Emily and only Emily as she rolled over and pulled the other girl on top of her. "We'll be fine. It might even be fun. An adventure, like you said." The last few words came out in a sultry whisper. She went back to kissing around Emily's ear. The brunette buried her head in the other girl's shoulder and closed her eyes in contentment.

Somewhere between the feeling of Ali's fingertips traveling down her back, the heat coursing through her, and the softness of Ali's skin under her own wandering hands, it occurred to Emily that this was the start of something. It wasn't their first time together, not even close, but it was the first time they were together like this in an unfurnished house, on their own someplace new where no one would know the horrors they'd endured.

It was nothing college Emily would have ever expected and yet it was everything fourteen-year-old Emily ever longed for. And with the woman she loved pressed against her, hand brushing up the inside of her thighs and her heart pounding, all she could feel was pure exhilaration that they were actually here, that this moment was actually _real_ and it was hers.

* * *

Covington High School resembled Rosewood High in some ways, but it appeared completely isolated from the rest of town. In reality, it was only a few miles away from the subdivisions which in turn were not far removed from the city. The curved oak trees and the open pasture surrounding the school gave the illusion that it was out in the country.

"Ready?" Alison asked Emily as she got out of the car, careful not to knock over Emily's university pamphlets and textbooks they'd retrieved from the local college campus earlier in the morning. She was fully registered and ready to start classes, so now it was Alison's turn to officially accept her new teaching position at the high school.

"Yep!" Emily said as she walked alongside her. She seemed particularly bright and cheery today, and Alison smiled warmly at her. "I scheduled my classes to end right around lunch, so I think I'm going to accept the part time assistant coaching job."

"Wait, really?" Ali tilted her head toward the other woman. "I thought you decided against that. You don't want to overextend yourself, Em. Especially with Lily and Grace being in daycare. One of them might get sick or need to be picked up…"

"We didn't really account for that in our budget. I just figured we could use the extra money," Emily shrugged.

Alison wanted to argue that money wasn't an issue, but it was true that daycare they'd selected after carefully considering quality ratings ended up being twice the cost they'd anticipated. On top of that, they still hadn't quite made up the money invested in renovating the Lost Woods. She'd tried to ignore it for the past several months because they were still getting along fine. However, sometimes she felt guilt settle in the pit of her stomach when she wondered if her teacher's salary was part of the problem.

But she loved teaching. Way more than she'd expected to, actually. Even with the occasional troublesome student. It was worth it when she saw the impact her words had on some students and how it reflected in their essays. She enjoyed working at the school with a passion Emily said she lacked in her own job the past several months.

Alison knew everything was how it should be and the guilt was irrational, but she still felt a lump in her throat when Emily mentioned their finances.

"You don't have to worry about being the provider. I can handle it for a few months," Alison said. Then, realizing her defensive tone, she paused and added in a gentler voice, "You do so much for me and the girls. Honestly, I couldn't ask you for anything more."

"Ali," Em said, turning to face her, "I want to do this. It's only a few hours a day."

"Okay, if you're sure," Ali relented with a sigh.

Their conversation was cut short when the front door of the school opened and a middle-aged woman in business clothes- the principal, Ali guessed- waved them over.

"You must be Miss DiLaurentis," she said politely. "I'm Amy Reed, vice principal." She had shoulder length blonde hair and freckles, along with a twangy accent that sounded like it came straight out of a movie.

"Nice to finally meet you," Ali said with her best charming smile. She stepped into the building, immediately noticing the heater was on even though the Georgia winter outside was far from freezing. Emily stepped in right behind her and they both followed the woman to her office.

"I have all the paperwork ready for you to sign. And I see you brought a friend," she said, and Alison stopped in her tracks.

"Actually…" she started, but Emily beat her to it.

"No, I'm Emily Fields, the one who talked to you on the phone earlier this month. I asked about the hours for the coaching job because I was still waiting to get my class schedule," she explained, shifting uncomfortably. "We just moved here. Together."

"Oh," Amy said, sounding flustered. Alison saw her eye the diamond ring on Emily's finger. " _Oh_. Well I…I should go get the information on the coaching job. Wait here. I'll be back in a minute."

The two girls looked at each other after she had left, having a conversation through unspoken words. It felt even hotter in the room now than it had before. Ali pressed her lips together in annoyance. Back in Rosewood, she rarely had to deal with strangers reacting to her and Emily being together. The world had changed so much in ten years, but now she was reminded that the South seemed to move a little slower in that regard.

"They're not going to give us any trouble. No one can," Emily assured her. "I think she was just caught off guard."

"I know," Ali said, gripping Emily's hand. "It just irritates me."

"Good news," Amy said when she walked back through the door. Her cheeks were still flushed, but she was at least looking them in the eye now. "The assistant swim coach position is still open, and practice hours are from 2 to 4:45 Monday through Friday. The natatorium is across campus, so you'll work in there, and you only need to check in the main building for faculty meetings every Friday morning at 7, before the students get here."

"Can you make that time?" Alison asked Emily.

"Yeah, I can. If it lasts till 8, I might have to leave 10 minutes early to make it to class, if that's okay."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Amy said. She placed her palms on the desk in front of her. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you studying?"

"I already have my bachelor's in kinesiology, but I wanted to get further certifications so I can work either in sports medicine or in physical therapy. It depends on what jobs are out there," she said.

"Ah, good. Well I have both your resumes on file and everything seems to be in order. I need you to sign some documentation so we can officially place you in your positions. We should have everything ready by next Monday if you're available to start at that time."

She spread various papers across the table and soon everything was finalized.

Later, Alison and Emily walked out the school, both thinking of what would await them in the coming months.

"Well, we have about half a week to settle in and relax after we get the furniture put in. We should probably go wait for the movers to get here," Emily said. She paused before they got to the car, taking a moment to look up at the clear, cloudless sky and feel the cool breeze.

Alison watched Emily twist her engagement ring around her finger. Since she gave it to her seven months ago, the brunette had only removed it to take showers or wash dishes, and Ali caught her looking at it fondly all the time.

"They're not coming for a few hours. I say we take advantage of a nice day. We should go explore the city a little, and then we can pick up the girls and get something to eat. How does that sound?" Ali asked, taking Emily's hand again.

"That sounds good, too," Emily agreed.

As they reached the vehicle, Emily noticed a fluttering paper sign loosely taped against a streetlight.

"What's this?" she asked as Alison helped her smooth down the paper to get a closer look. There was a picture of a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She had long, wavy brown hair and a heart shaped face.

Alison gulped as she read the word at the top of the poster. It reminded her of something all too familiar: an image of her own face that she couldn't get out of her brain, forever fifteen and fearless. And gone. Missing.

A man jogging by threw a look in their direction. "She's the second one in three months," he called out as he ran past. "You two be careful out here!"

"No," Emily said, shaking her head. "We're not going through this again. This isn't Rosewood."

"Exactly," Ali responded, though she couldn't quite shake the feeling in her stomach that was somewhere between dread and _déjà_ vu. "This is the start of someone else's nightmare, not ours. We already survived. Come on, let's go."

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, here we go! The premise of this story was inspired by rumors of Emily and Alison being teachers in a new town on the Perfectionists. That being said, this has nothing to do with that series. It's about Emison moving someplace new on their own and learning to face challenges together, while also getting caught up in the drama of their surroundings. There will be periodic appearances of other pll characters.**

 **My update schedule will depend on how quickly I write because I'd like to stay a few chapters ahead before posting. I'm currently working on chapter 5. Thanks for reading! Review if you can :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much for the favs, follows, and reviews so far! This chapter is more or less to set things up for later in the story, but there is fluff in the second half. Keep in mind that while there will be some other characters at school/work to advance the plot, there's not going to be any cheating nonsense in this story. I'm excited for you all to see what's coming in later chapters. I just wrote one with a kissing rock flashback/parallel :)**

* * *

Once they'd seen the missing poster, it became impossible to ignore the woman in the picture. She was gone but ever-present in town, showing up in whispered conversations and on every window shop television screen. Just like Alison all those years ago.

Emily gulped, remembering that period of her life. She stood near the cops with tears in her eyes the day the posters first went up. There had been exactly 17 signs hanging between her house and Rosewood High. Seventeen pairs of eyes watching her on her walks to school. She'd tighten her arms around herself as she passed them and reason that Alison had probably run away on her own account and was living a fabulous life somewhere far away, free from any real danger.

Even years later, after she and the girls brought Alison back from New York, she still saw the missing posters from time to time, dilapidated and hanging crookedly on abandoned bulletin boards outside of businesses. _Missing: Alison DiLaurentis. Would now be 16_.

But this woman was 26, not 16. Her name was Laura Royce, and she'd been missing for just over a week. Her disappearance followed the body identification of another woman who'd been abducted three months earlier.

To Emily, the news was unsettling, but the effect it had on her was nothing compared to the hold it had on Alison.

Emily looked up from her spot at the table, where she was attempting to feed the twins a mix of fruit and yogurt. She noticed Alison was still standing by the stove, preparing breakfast, but she was turned around and her eyes were glued to the TV in the living room. The same news story that seemed to play in a constant loop was on once again, showcasing the same picture they'd seen hanging all over town.

"Ali, the French toast is gonna burn," Emily said in a gentle voice.

"Ugh, not again," Ali groaned as she flipped over the darkened bread and tossed it on a plate. "I hope you don't mind yours being a little crispy."

"We could always switch places if you want," Emily offered, smiling to herself because she already knew what response she'd get.

" _Please_ ," Ali said, grinning for the first time since they'd gotten out of bed. She pulled up a chair next to Emily and nudged her shoulder. "I haven't forgotten about the time we had to call the fire department on our anniversary after the dinner you cooked for me went up in flames."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Emily turned her attention back to mixing the babies' fruit. "What about you, Lily? Grace? Do you trust me to make food for you?"

The twins were both mid-yawn, exhausted from being switched to a different sleep schedule, but they perked up when Emily said their names. They leaned forward in their high chairs to see what was in the bowl.

Then they looked at their mother expectantly. After a lot of trial and error, Emily learned that the girls wouldn't eat anything unless they watched her try it first.

"Mmm, look, Mama's eating it," she told them as she tasted the tiniest spoonful. "No vegetables here. It's yummy food." Lily squealed in delight and Grace reached out for the spoon. After months of struggling to get her daughters to eat and worrying they weren't getting their nutritional needs met, it made Emily happy beyond belief when it came easily.

"Good girls," Ali cooed. "Can you say, 'Thank you, Mama?'"

"Tank Mamamama!" Grace babbled.

Ali leaned forward and kissed both girls on the forehead before quickly kissing Emily's lips. "I love you and I wish I could stay longer, but I can't be late on my first day."

"I love you, too. I'll be leaving soon anyway. Just need to eat first," she said, sliding the breakfast Ali prepared closer to her.

Ali threw away her own empty plate and smoothed down her blonde hair and new dress while taking a deep breath. "What do you think? Should I have gone more casual?" In the background, a news reporter on the TV was talking about Laura Royce again, and Ali turned in that direction to listen in.

"You look perfect. Don't worry about that," Emily assured her. Biting her lip, she glanced in the direction of the TV as well. "Try not to worry about anything, okay? No one's going to hurt us here."

"I know, I know. I just can't help listening. Good luck with your first day," Ali said as she picked up her purse and left in a hurry.

* * *

At the high school, Ali was greeted by two teachers the vice principal assigned to help set up her classroom. There was an older woman, probably nearing retirement, with short curly hair and glasses, and a man who looked to be in his early thirties with sandy, dark blonde hair. The latter reminded Alison of a less rugged version of Jason.

The three of them lugged a few boxes of posters, decorations, and office supplies from Ali's old classroom in Rosewood down the hallway and set it on the desk.

"Where should I hang these?" the man asked, holding up posters with information on punctuation and the writing process. Both teachers had introduced themselves at the door, but Ali forgot their names almost instantly, too anxious about her new position to focus on much, and she figured it would be better to wait a while before asking again.

She pointed to the large bulletin board at the back of the classroom. "Anywhere over there is fine. It doesn't have to be perfect."

The older woman helped her shift through items in the boxes. "You'll fit right in here," she told Alison. "The students seem to relate better to younger teachers. Just make sure they remember you're the adult."

"It's usually fine, for the most part. I've had a couple of students who were a little…headstrong," Ali trailed off. Her thoughts turned to Addison, who she'd hoped wouldn't go down the same path she had, but it was inevitable. Life didn't give her the second chance Ali got; this time, there wasn't any confusion over the body identification. It made Ali sick. Anywhere she went, a missing person investigation was sure to follow.

Her friends always pleaded with her not to believe it was the result of a karmic imbalance in the universe. Alison wasn't superstitious, not really, but sometimes the darkest part of her mind wondered if other people were paying for her to have a happy ending.

"I can give you a heads up about any potentially challenging students if you show me your roster," the woman volunteered.

"Sure," Ali said warmly in return.

She handed over the list of names and continued shifting through the box, reaching for the framed pictures she wanted on her desk. The first was an old favorite. Fifteen-year-old versions of her, Emily, Aria, Hanna, and Spencer smiled back at her from lawn chairs between the DiLaurentis and Hastings houses. The second was taken a year ago in a hospital delivery room. It was a photo of Emily holding their newborn daughters for the first time. There was a sparkle in her eyes and a huge, ecstatic grin across her face. The kind of smile that made the world a brighter place.

"Hmm, it seems like you have a pretty good group here," the teacher said.

The one who reminded her of Jason walked up and examined the list. "Yeah, looks like it," he agreed. "A lot of these kids are in my history class. Maci is really bright."

The older woman spoke up again. "Listen, Alison, we really appreciate you taking over the class for the semester considering their teacher disappeared so suddenly."

Alison felt her heart drop in her chest. She stood there, stunned, and it took her a moment to regain the ability to speak. "They- they didn't tell me why the position was open. I had no idea it was linked to the disappearance."

"Oh no," she clarified. "No, I mean their teacher disappeared because she went into labor two months early. She's on maternity leave indefinitely for now, with all the time she has to spend in the NICU."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Ali felt her cheeks flush when she realized her mistake. Obviously, it wasn't about the Royce girl. She'd only been gone a week, and this position was open months ago.

She was ready to change the subject to lesson plans, but the male teacher spoke up before she could.

"You're talking about the Royce girl, aren't you?" he asked. "It's impossible to avoid hearing about her, even if you're new to the town." He glanced at the pictures sitting on the desk, focusing on the one with Emily and the twins. He looked unfazed by it.

Alison folded her arms and leaned back against the desk. She knew she shouldn't go any deeper into the hole of investigating a missing person who had literally nothing to do with her, but she also knew she couldn't stop herself from asking. "Did you know her personally?"

"She was just an acquaintance," he shrugged. "Her family owns a printing shop in town, and she did a lot of design work for the school."

The woman adjusted her glasses and nodded in agreement. "She was here from time to time."

"I hope the police here are more competent than they are where I'm from," Ali mused.

The other two looked at her with raised eyebrows but didn't have time to question her further before the first bell of the day signaled them to get ready for homeroom.

* * *

By the time Emily made it to class, she was already exhausted. Her heart hurt from watching Lily and Grace sob when she dropped them off at daycare, and she was on edge from the usual first day of school jitters. After high school, she hadn't adjusted to college life as easily as the other girls. Though her struggles in California all linked back to one very specific event, it was still easy to feel discouraged.

She spread some pencils out on her desk and pulled out a notebook while imagining her dad was there to reassure her.

 _Without swimming, I'm… average_ , she'd said once, sitting in her childhood bedroom.

Wayne Fields refuted that claim immediately. _There is nothing average about you_.

If nothing else, she knew she could at least survive syllabus day. In just over half a year, she would be licensed to start a new, hopefully more fulfilling career. That's what she had to hold onto.

A middle aged balding professor came into the classroom and wrote "Exercise Physiology 101" on the whiteboard.

Emily listened diligently as they reviewed class etiquette and assignment schedules. The lessons would be lecture based for the first half of the semester, with the hands-on projects taking place later. There would be a substantial amount of group work.

The professor jumped into the chapter one notes right away, while Emily wrote down all the vocabulary as quickly as possible.

"Since we have a lot of material to cover in a short amount of time, I'm going to assign groups to document and present half a chapter each so we can get through three chapters every week. Your first test will be next Friday," the professor said.

"Sounds like an easy way to get out of teaching anything," someone beside Emily muttered under her breath.

The brunette looked to her right and saw the voice belonged to a girl, probably a few years younger than her. She wore a black zipped up jacket along with a scowl on her face, and Emily wondered if it was possible for someone to look any less enthusiastic about being in class.

"Yeah, I guess we're supposed to learn several chapters of information by watching ten minute presentations," Emily agreed with a whisper, silently praying the rest of her classes wouldn't be this way. "We might as well just read the textbook."

Unsurprisingly, the professor grouped students based on who was sitting near who. Emily was paired with the frowning girl next to her, an equally unamused boy sitting behind her, and another girl who came across as good intentioned but ditzy.

Emily felt like a Hastings in the moment, recognizing that she'd probably be stuck doing the project but also not caring all that much about the burden being placed on her because she was actually here to learn. And she definitely wasn't depending on anyone else for a passing grade.

"So, you think either of them will do any work? I'm Rachel, by the way," the girl in the hoodie told her as class ended, surprising Emily. Maybe she'd judged her work ethic too soon.

"It's going to get done one way or another," Emily said. She shrugged her schoolbag over her shoulders and started walking to her next class.

"I'm not concerned about it. They can bail if they want to," Rachel said. "If I've learned anything, it's that people always get what's coming to them."

Emily turned around and narrowed her eyes at that, but Rachel had already disappeared into the sea of students passing through.

This was going to be a strange semester.

* * *

Covington High School's natatorium contained a standard sized pool. Emily could almost confuse it for Rosewood High if it weren't for the unfamiliar faces of the swim team girls and her light orange coaching jacket that kind of made her feel like a prisoner.

After half a day of college classes, she spent the next couple of hours assisting the head coach and correcting techniques for the butterfly stroke. It wasn't the most exciting work, but it wasn't unpleasant, and the team seemed welcoming enough.

A few minutes before five, the back door of the gymnasium squealed open. Emily ignored it at first, assuming it was a swimmer coming back from the restroom, but she turned around immediately when she heard an unmistakable cry.

Ali was near the entrance, holding Grace's hand as she tried to toddle toward the pool and balancing a crying Lily on her hip. The noise echoed loud enough to get most of the swim team's attention. The head coach crossed her arms and looked in their direction, causing Alison to mouth "sorry" and disappear behind the door again.

"Okay everyone, you're dismissed, but I want to see more effort tomorrow," Coach said. The swimmers pulled off their caps and goggles and headed to the locker room.

Emily approached her cautiously. "Is there anything else we need to talk about? If we're done, I'm going to go check on them and make sure everything's alright."

"You're free to go. Do me a favor and lock up when you're done," she said, tossing Emily the keys.

With that said, Emily strolled across the natatorium. "Hey," she said, face lighting up when she saw Ali and their babies were still waiting outside for her. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I picked up the girls, and we all decided that we missed you," Ali explained. "I didn't mean to interrupt practice."

"It was practically over, anyway. I'm just glad you're here now." Lily was reaching for her, so Emily picked her up and wiped away the tears stuck to her little cheeks. "I know, I missed you, too."

"Rough day?" Alison asked in concern.

"No, not really," Emily decided. "I just need some time to adjust to it. What's with the vests?" Emily asked, motioning to the life jackets over the twins' onesies. "Were you guys planning on swimming?"

"It was just a precaution since they're starting to walk now. You know my family doesn't have the best track record with babies and bodies of water. Well, bathtubs mostly, but you know what I mean."

Emily peeked back past the door and saw an empty room. She jingled the keys in her hand. "You know, maybe they can play in the water for a bit."

Alison walked back into the natatorium with Grace in tow as Emily locked the doors behind them. "And what about us?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't have a bathing suit."

"We managed just fine in high school, remember?" Emily smirked to herself thinking about all the times Alison had dragged her to the pool after hours and told her wearing a bra and panties was practically the same as wearing a bikini.

"Yeah, but that was before we had actual responsibilities and jobs we could lose," her fiancée responded in a teasing voice.

"Come on Ali, live a little," Emily joked.

Ali shook her head at that. "Hey, if I remember right, you were always the one too scared to break the rules."

"Well maybe I'm not scared anymore," Emily said, deliberately looking her in the eye. Without breaking eye contact, she tried to tug her own shirt over her head. She meant for it to look alluring, but it was easier said than done while holding a child. Her shirt ended up stuck on her arms and Alison laughed.

"It's not funny," she muttered as the blonde helped her out of the shirt.

"It is. You're adorable."

"That's so not what I was going for," Emily insisted, but she forgot what she was even trying to argue for when Alison leaned forward and kissed her.

"Lily and Grace's pool floats are in the bag. They're already in swimsuits under their clothes," Ali told her, and Emily realized this was all planned. Even when she thought she was the one controlling the situation, the other girl was always one step ahead.

"So you packed for them and conveniently forgot to bring our bathing suits?" Emily questioned.

Ali played along with a shrug. "Must've slipped my mind."

"Just like old times, then," Emily said. The only difference now was that they had two twelve month olds with them who were still too young to question rules or makeshift bathing suits and instead had their sights set solely on getting into the pool. The brunette walked over to the diaper bag and tended to undressing the squirming twins while Ali inflated the lily pad-shaped baby floats.

She took off the diamond ring on her finger and put it in a safe compartment of the bag for safe keeping. It was strange how she'd only had it for a few months, and now she felt naked without it. Like part of her was missing. As she zipped up the compartment, she thought about another surprise she had in mind for Alison. It was part of the reason she'd wanted to take the job, but it wasn't going to be easy keeping their finances a secret from her fiancée.

A few minutes later, Emily helped Alison with the zipper on her dress and they eased their way into the shallow end with Lily and Grace. The twins trembled at first from the cold temperature of the water, but soon they were splashing gleefully and trying to bounce in their rafts.

"Babada wadder!" Grace cried out as she ran her fingers through it.

"Brrr!" Lily said which a dramatized shiver. She tried to lean forward in her raft, poking out her tongue to taste it.

"No, no, that's yucky water," Emily told them, pulling their rafts closer to her until they were both hanging onto her arm. She swished them around in circles, laughing along with them and wishing they could stay this tiny and cute forever. "Swimming is fun, isn't it? Are you two going to be swimmers one day?"

Amidst the twirling, she caught sight of Alison resting on the side of the pool, watching them from several feet away. Emily was going to ask if she was okay until she noticed the content smile on the other girl's face.

"Hey, you should come over here with us," Emily told her.

"I could spend the rest of my life just watching you with them," Ali said, causing Emily's heart to skip a beat. "They get so excited when they see you."

She continued as she waded closer, saying "There isn't anything I'd change about where we are now, even if it took us a decade to get here. I'd do it all again."

"Come here," Emily told her again, pulling her into a snug embrace. "Nothing's going to change. But I get what you mean. Every now and then, I wish I could freeze time and just stay as we are now. Everything's been going so well. I'm not used to that." She was quiet a minute, watching the twins play until she remembered a call she'd gotten earlier. "Hanna keeps asking for baby advice, but I told her the pregnancy and delivery stuff is more in your wheelhouse."

"Oh yeah, her due date must be coming up soon," Ali said. "I'll call her. Have you heard from the other girls? I told Spencer she and Toby should come visit us one weekend. Not sure if they can, though. I know she's pretty busy with law school, and work, and the Lost Woods."

"Well, Aria and Ezra are busy with the movie deal. They've had a few setbacks with the adoption agency. I'm sure it will work out. It just takes time. And I heard Paige took a new job as a counselor in Iowa."

"I think she'd be good at that. She's not afraid to make people be honest with themselves," Ali mused as she pulled the twins' rafts around. The two buried the hatchet around the time Paige left Rosewood, and Emily was grateful for the declaration of peace.

"You didn't tell me about your day," Emily noted while brushing back a piece of Alison's hair. Alison snuggled in closer to her, so she wrapped an arm around her shoulders, trying not to focus too much on her lacy black bra strap since they were still in a school gymnasium with the kids.

"It was good," Alison answered. "There's not much to say, really."

She could feel Alison's hand crawling teasingly across her lower back, reaching just under the fabric of her undies before retreating back up again. It felt like she was fifteen and at one of the college parties Ali used to be so fond of. After a few drinks, they would head to the pool, shedding most of their clothes, and Ali would start her games.

Back then, Emily didn't think they ever meant anything, but knowing all she does now, she recognizes it was Alison exploring, pushing the limits before changing her mind in panic and backing off. Ali would position her against the side wall of the pool, whispering and tracing the curve of Emily's hips. Then, a few times, she'd leaned in so close Emily could smell alcohol on her breath and their lips were almost touching. Sometimes they did brush together, briefly, before Ali heard someone else approaching and played it off like nothing had happened.

This time, Emily spun her around to bring her to the nearest wall.

"Em! What are you doing?" Ali giggled. Then her back was pressed up against the side and her eyes flickered in recognition.

Emily leaned in to kiss her and Ali reciprocated right away, pulling her closer. It wasn't just like old times, after all. It was different. It was real and it was honest, without fear or inhibition. They held onto each other and kissed, taking advantage of their moment together until Grace and Lily were clinging to their sides again, calling for them.

"Hey Lilybug," Ali said, lifting her out of the raft and kissing her cheek. She watched as Emily did the same with Grace. "They love interrupting us, don't they?"

"We should really consider getting a pool in our backyard one day," Emily said. "I think we'd all enjoy that."

"Let's enjoy our time here a little longer before we have to go," Ali said as she set Lily back into the water and pulled her fiancée close again.


	3. Chapter 3

"This last month of pregnancy is torturous," Hanna groaned as she repositioned herself on the sofa for what must have been the hundredth time over the short duration of their Facetime call.

Emily looked at her sympathetically, not quite able to relate but also clearly remembering how difficult the last trimester was for Alison.

As if on cue, Alison leaned into the frame behind Emily and said, "Just be lucky you're not carrying twins. I was practically bedridden after thirty weeks."

"Hey, I had a long list of questions I wanted to ask you, but I suddenly can't remember any of them. Pregnancy brain," Hanna muttered, rubbing her temples. "Please at least tell me this whole peeing when sneezing thing goes away after the delivery because I don't know how much longer I can deal with it."

Ali grimaced at that. "Do you want me to tell you the answer you want to hear or the truth?"

"Enough said," Hanna decided, readjusting herself again with a sigh. "So how's everything with you guys?"

"It's good," Emily answered. "We're settling in okay. We actually took the girls for a morning stroll through some paved nature trails earlier."

"More like a morning run," Alison chimed in from across the room, where she was tending to the twins as they whimpered in their playpen. They'd been needy lately, fussy from teething. "Which Emily failed to mention was uphill," she finished.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad! There was barely an incline," Emily defended herself.

"Well if your plan was to work up a sweat and get us both back in the shower, it worked."

"I so don't need to hear about this," Hanna said, but there was a teasing smirk on her face that said otherwise.

Emily felt her cheeks flush. "It's not like we had time to do anything with the kids awake. Now that they're walking, they can and will destroy the house if we leave them alone for more than a minute."

"I don't know what Caleb and I are gonna do after baby boy comes," Hanna said as she lovingly rubbed a hand over her belly.

"Well since we can't be there when he's born, you'd better send us lots and lots of pictures, okay? I've gotta go now or I'll be late for class," Emily told her friend. The two exchanged goodbyes and then Emily joined her fiancée on the other side of the living room.

"Do you wanna carpool today?" Ali asked. "You can drop me off at the high school and pick me up for lunch."

"I wish I could," Emily told her. She picked up Grace and ran her fingers through the infant's wispy blonde hair as Ali lifted Lily. "I'm supposed to meet with my group members between classes today so we can pull everything together for our presentation tomorrow. I promise I'll come pick you up if I get out early."

"No, I don't want you to rush," Ali told her. She handed Lily over to Emily just like every other morning and kissed both little girls on the cheek. Then she turned her attention back to the brunette. "I guess I just miss seeing you in the teacher's lounge every day. There's a lot of unfamiliar faces."

"Yeah, I understand," Emily frowned, thinking of Ali sitting alone in a room full of strangers. "I thought I'd be in the main building more with the coaching position."

Ali looked at the time on her phone and quickly grabbed her purse. "Time to go. I'll see you this evening, okay? I love you."

She leaned in for a quick kiss and Emily tried to pull her closer, hold it longer, the best she could while holding two children. Lately, they'd made an effort to wake up early and spend extra time together in the mornings, but Emily still missed the other woman the second she walked out the door. For over a year and a half, they'd been practically inseparable. Emily knew it was unreasonable for couples to be together all the time. Hell, it was probably healthier to have separate careers and some alone time because your entire being isn't supposed to be molded by another person.

But other couples hadn't spent a decade pining after each other before finally falling together. She and Ali were still making up for lost time. Some days she felt like she had to hold onto every moment as tightly as she could and savor every time Ali looked at her with lust-filled eyes or rolled onto her pillow or threw a comforting arm over her in the middle of the night.

Emily looked at her engagement ring and her two beautiful daughters as she walked out the door and reminded herself that they'd built a life with the intent of permanence, and that wasn't going to slip away.

Ali's car had already pulled out the driveway. Emily strapped Grace and Lily into car seats and handed them teething toys to chew on during the drive to day care.

"We need to think of something special to do with Mommy this weekend," she cooed to the twins, who looked back at her with eyes full of curiosity. Ali was right; their eyes were getting darker. Lily's especially. The edges of her irises still glistened blue in sunlight, but the center was turning a deeper brown. Despite their fair complexions, Emily could see parts of herself reflected in her daughters as they got older.

After checking the girls' seat belts again and tossing her schoolbag in the passenger seat, she put the key in the ignition, and she was on her way.

* * *

Ali easily slid into her daily routine at Covington High, arriving to her classroom and reviewing lesson plans just as she would in Rosewood. After her first period class, she took out a red pen and graded a stack of essays. It was tedious work, yet she smiled to herself when she noticed some especially well written papers from students who didn't just hear the lesson but actually _listened_.

Twenty minutes into her hour-long break between periods, the classroom door creaked open, and Vice Principal Amy Reed stuck her head in. Ali looked up from her stack of papers.

"Do you have a minute?" she asked with a thick Southern drawl.

"Sure," Ali replied, even though she still had several essays to get through. "What is it?"

The woman came over and leaned against Alison's desk, looking at the pictures sitting on it as she spoke. "Listen, we're asking all the junior teachers to put their heads together and brainstorm ideas for this year's prom. We had a bit of a fiasco last year, so I'm going to partner you with a teacher who remembers what happened so we won't have a repeat. You met Kyle, right?"

Ali straightened in her chair. "Yeah, he must've been the one who helped me unpack my supplies." Mentally, she'd labeled him as beardless Jason. He had a name now. Kyle.

"Right!" Amy clapped her hands together. "I'll send him in."

Ali nodded and turned her attention back to her grading for a few minutes until Kyle knocked and walked into the classroom.

"So it sounds like we'll be in the same committee for a while," he announced as he came in. "What are you working on? Anything exciting?"

"Just grading papers," Alison answered. "So what happened at prom last year that was so catastrophic?"

"Well, the catering didn't agree with people's stomachs. You can guess the rest." He pulled up a chair close to her desk, a little closer than Alison cared for.

"Hmm yeah, long, expensive prom dresses and stomach problems aren't the best combination. And yet it's not the craziest thing that's ever happened at a prom," Ali said.

"You've seen something worse?" he asked skeptically.

Oh, these people had no idea.

"Would you believe me if I said I know some girls who were banned from prom for being a safety hazard, still managed to sneak in, and then got kidnapped?" she asked, holding back a snicker. It caught her by surprise that enough time had passed to find humor in something from her past.

"And you know them personally? I'm not sure I can believe that," he laughed heartily. Ali allowed herself to laugh, too.

"Those girls must be absolute train wrecks," he added, and Ali fell silent. For a moment, it had been nice to have a conversation with someone at work. Emily was the only person she'd talked to in weeks, excluding Lily and Grace, who had a vocabulary of approximately five words.

It obviously wasn't a personal attack, she reminded herself. He didn't know any better.

"Let's focus on ideas. Maybe brainstorm for a while and compare notes later," she said, trying to keep her tone positive, but she was pretty sure her words fell flat.

Kyle seemed to notice the change in her demeanor. He furrowed his eyebrows and edged closer. He looked less like Jason in this proximity. Just the dark golden hair color was the same.

"Did I say something to upset you?" he asked, confused.

Ali shook her head. "No, it's not that. I just-"

"I'm a good listener if there's something you need to get off your chest," he cut in. It was quiet for a few heavy seconds as he looked down at something on her desk. Then he said, "I hope all the talk that's been going on isn't affecting anything at home."

"What is that supposed to mean?" If Alison wasn't on the defensive already, she sure as hell was now. She pursed her lips. "What are people saying? They don't know the first thing about my life. Neither do you."

Kyle held up his hands in front of him, as if to say _woah, easy there_. "I heard from other teachers that you're engaged to the new swim coach, and I also noticed you aren't wearing your ring. It's just an observation. I thought it might've been a sign that you were upset, or trying to hide it from faculty…"

Ali looked down at her hands and pulled them onto her lap, out of view. "My fiancée has the ring. I proposed to her."

"Oh…" the man trailed off, blinking in understanding and probably feeling a bit embarrassed. As he should.

"What, is that surprising?" Ali asked stiffly, still agitated that he was even looking for a ring and questioning her home life in the first place.

"No, I didn't mean anything by it," he said, finally standing and backing up enough to give her some space. "It's just, we don't see a lot of people like you- like your family- around these parts, and people get curious."

"So what, people walk around the halls talking about me and my fiancée like we're part of a circus freak show?"

Ali forced herself to take a breath after the words were out. She'd been regarded that way all her life, to be honest. First as the queen bee and then as the dead girl come back alive. It was tiring.

It kind of killed her deep inside, made her cringe, when she realized the old version of herself would've said much worse than whatever was being whispered in the halls. But that was ten years ago. She'd changed, and the world should have, too.

"I'm not ashamed of myself or my relationship. That's all I'm going to say," Ali said decisively.

"Of course not," Kyle said, furrowing his eyebrows again. "Can we just restart this conversation? I'm not trying to make enemies here. I was good friends with the girl who worked here before you and I was hoping we could at least look out for each other. If I say anything that comes out wrong, just correct me and I won't say it again, okay?"

"Fair enough," Ali agreed after a moment's hesitation. "I'm not trying to make enemies, either. I'll try not to be so defensive."

He gave her a lopsided smile, and they went back to brainstorming ideas. It was quiet and it was fine. After all she'd been through, she was tired of having enemies. An ally would be nice. Yet she still had scars from faux doctors and dishonest sisters reminding her that placing trust in someone unworthy could bite her in the ass.

Five minutes before class started, a few students walked in early and headed straight to their seats. One of them, a tall, pretty girl with dark skin and glasses, paused when she entered the classroom just as Kyle left. Her eyes followed him down the hallway before she turned around and looked at Alison questioningly.

"Everything okay, Maci?" Ali asked from her spot behind the desk.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she said with a nod before taking her seat.

* * *

It was cool and breezy in the university's quad. Emily tugged her leather jacket closer to her and admired the scenery from her spot at a picnic bench. It wasn't the same as Pepperdine's campus. There were fewer paved sidewalks here and a complete absence of palm trees and surfer-types. This quad was still bustling with activity despite it belonging to a smaller school, with numerous students throwing frisbees, walking dogs, and reading under shady oak trees.

Her group members had already arrived- or, at least two out of three had bothered to come. Rachel, the dreary girl from class, and a tired looking boy were there, looking lazily through the textbook Emily had marked with numbered sticky notes.

 _Nice organizational skills, Pam_ , Ali had told her with a tongue-in-cheek grin after she saw it.

Emily thought of Ali again when she noticed a young woman walk into the area, looking around as if searching someone. She was wearing an orange sweater like the text message said. Knowing exactly what she was here for, Emily waved her over.

"You must be looking for this," Emily told her as she retrieved a velvet pouch of old jewelry from the front pocket of her school bag.

"Sure am. Thanks!" the young woman said, taking the pouch. She reached into her purse and pulled out a check.

"Oh, sorry. I thought I said cash only on the listing," Emily told her.

"Ah, it probably did. I forgot." She dug into her purse again and pulled out a small stack of $20 bills. "Here you go."

Emily counted the cash as she left, making sure she had the correct amount before stashing it in her wallet.

"That was sketchy," Rachel muttered. "I didn't take you for that type."

She looked at the shorter brunette intently, a crease forming between her brows. "What type? It's jewelry, not drugs."

"Cash only?" Rachel asked.

"It's just…easier to keep track of that way," Emily jumped to explain.

Rachel considered the answer, absorbing what she probably knew to be a half truth, and decided to stay silent.

The three of them worked for a while to finalize who was presenting which concepts and discuss what kinds of questions might be on the test.

It hadn't been the longest of group meetings, but Emily had faith it was enough to get them through the presentation. She packed up her stuff, ready to head to the high school. As she was about to say goodbye to Rachel, she noticed the young woman was watching a group of students gather around a television screen hanging at the far end of the quad.

"What's going on?" Em asked. More students were piling into the area by the minute.

"Let's find out," Rachel said.

As they got closer, it didn't take Emily long to register that they were listening to a news report. She could hear the voice of the anchor saying words like "evidence" and "investigation" and "leads."

Sure enough, the next words she heard comprised a name: Laura Royce. Her picture was taking up one half of the screen. The other half showed a wooded area filled with flashing police cars and lined with yellow tape. Emily had stood at the edge of the same type of scene countless times. Was someone who loved Laura standing there right now living that moment for the first time? Were they standing, crushed, frozen in place, as the world crashed around them?

"Fuck," Rachel said, almost breathlessly. Her eyes widened and it was the most expression Emily had ever seen from her.

Emily's heart sank; that hypothetical person might just be the one standing beside her.

She craned her neck to see the screen. "It doesn't say anything about a body," Emily told her. "It's just blood evidence. Just a lead. It could mean anything."

"What else would it mean?" the shorter girl griped.

"I've seen the police get facts wrong before. They don't have all the answers." Before Emily could finish the sentence, Rachel had already darted forward into the crowd. Emily pulled her back by her black hoodie (which honestly still hurt her eyes to look at, even if it had been seven years since Charlotte stood before them in the same get-up).

"Hey! I'm trying to help you. How did you know her?" Emily demanded.

Rachel nearly hit her, so Emily let go and stepped back. "How did you know her?" she repeated.

"Why does it matter? Why do you care?" she snapped again. The tears that had started to dot her eyes were gone now. In a matter of seconds, she no longer looked upset. Just angry.

"Because I've stood behind that yellow tape when someone I loved was on the other end of the investigation," Emily said, surprising herself when her voice grew shaky. "I've been there. More than once."

"She was extended family," Rachel muttered, looking down at the grass. "We weren't close. I don't know why I reacted like that."

The girl was gone before Emily could say another word. Unable to locate her in the crowd, Emily sighed and turned her attention back to the screen. Police were suspecting blunt force trauma and treating it as a murder. Laura's blood and strands of hair were found by a tree in a mountainous area not far from Covington. Not too far from the high school.

"Ali," Emily whispered to herself. She pulled out her phone, ready to call, and saw a text from her fiancée.

 _From Ali: I'm so ready to see you. It's been a weird day._

Emily started typing.

 _To Ali:_ _Same. Did you hear what happened?_?

* * *

Alison hadn't heard what happened, not until Emily told her in the few minutes they had between the end of her work schedule and the start of swim practice. It did explain some hushed chatter in the halls that the blonde had stupidly and self-consciously assumed was about her.

The investigation commanded her attention for the better part of the rest of the day, only giving way when other responsibilities took over. Emily was hunched over a textbook in their bedroom, studying, and Ali did her best to give her the gift of peace and quiet- something that was hard to come by since their little ones were born.

She only poked her head in to ask for help when it was time to bathe the girls and put them to bed early, and by that point, Emily looked more than happy to have an excuse to take a break. It took forty minutes of sitting in rocking chairs to soothe them to sleep, but soon Lily and Grace were both in their cribs, the chores were done, and one whispered suggestion was all it took to get them into bed.

Emily was a protector and a caretaker. She always listened when Ali came to her with a need. A need to be close to her; a need to be touched just right to make her body and heart and mind feel things she'd never come close to feeling with anyone else.

It was still early, but Ali found herself dozing off as she nuzzled against Emily's bare chest. She only opened her eyes when she felt Emily shifting beneath her.

"Babe, what is it?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"Nothing. You should get some rest."

She felt Emily press a kiss to the top of her head, a little motion that never failed to make her heart flutter. She felt joyful for a second, before she looked at Em's expression and saw traces of worry.

"Em," Ali said as she leaned up and buried her face into the crook of the other girl's neck, "I know you well enough to know when something's wrong."

"I don't think I know the material well enough for my test tomorrow. I'm so ready to skip to the part where we do hands-on projects. I learn better that way," she said. Then, softly, she admitted, "I'm just scared I can't do this and that I'll let you down."

"You're not going to let me down," Ali responded in a heartbeat. "I promise you won't."

"But if I don't pass, then I put our family through this for nothing," Emily said, avoiding blue eyes as she leaned over to the nightstand and pulled her notebook onto her lap. Once it was there, she tugged the bedsheet over her chest and stared at the paper, though there was no way she was focusing on the written words.

Alison sat up so she was at the other woman's eye level. "Emily, look at me. You're going to do fine, but I'll humor you and say that even if it doesn't work out as planned, I think this was still good for us. To exist on our own separate from Rosewood and learn how to adapt to changes together."

"You think so?" Emily asked, finally meeting Ali's gaze. Her brown eyes seemed to soften in relief when Ali nodded.

"I'm glad we're here, too," she decided. "I just…sometimes I'm not sure what I'm doing, or what I even want to do with my life," she said, gesturing to her notebook. "And I'm depending on this to fix that feeling, but I'm not sure it can."

"You won't know until you know. Eventually, you'll end up right where you need to be," Ali told her.

"Sounds like something fourteen-year-old Ali would say. The cryptic girl with all the answers," Emily said with a small, nostalgic smile.

"There's a lot I wish I would've done with you back then," Alison said wistfully. She'd tried to make up for it by inviting Emily to every school dance she'd had to chaperone since they got together. Her thoughts turned to Covington High's prom and the conversation she'd had with Kyle. Emily didn't know about the assumption he made or how he implied the other teachers viewed them differently for being together.

Emily deserved to know. Secrets between them were a thing of the past.

She looked at Emily's pretty doe eyes. Those eyes were an open book, and right now they still contained a hint of sadness and uncertainty.

That conversation could wait. What she needed right now was a distraction. Ali reached for her notebook and pen and started filling the margins of the page with loopy cursive writing.

 _Alison Lauren DiLaurentis + Emily Catherine Fields = DiLaurentis-Fields + Grace Lauren & Lily Estella_

Once she was sure she had Emily's attention, she smirked to herself and drew two little boxes marked Y and N. Above it, she wrote:

 _Prom? Check yes or no_

"You're such a dork," Emily said immediately, rolling her eyes as she took the notebook back and checked yes. After she was done, she pulled Ali close and kissed her hard. "I love you. Thank you for making me feel better."

"I love you, too," Alison murmured against her lips.

"It's not even 10:30," Emily said with a quick glance at the clock. "Why did I think it was so much later?"

In high school, Alison sometimes stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning without so much as a yawn. Lately, they'd both been falling asleep early after long, exhausting days. "We've been running on the twins' sleeping schedule. Seriously though, we're not middle aged. I'm not going to sleep yet, and I think you could use some stress relief. You didn't get your turn earlier."

Emily looked at her intently, and this time her eyes were full of want. "I think that's exactly what I need right now," she said. "I can always study later."

Ali looked at the notebook again, focusing on the vocabulary words written on side of her prom invitation. An idea popped into her mind.

"Or we can do both," she told the brunette. Before Emily could question her, she gently pulled the bed sheet to the side and kissed down her body, starting at her lips and trailing over her neck and breasts and stomach. Skipping the area where Em wanted her the most, she situated herself between her legs, planted a kiss to her inner thigh, and grabbed the notebook.

"What's spirometry?" she asked as she read from the page.

"Seriously, Ali? How am I supposed to focus on that right now?"

"I'm proving to you that you already know it," Ali explained, "and I'm giving you a good incentive." She pressed another kiss to her upper thigh, over the tattoo that stood for courage.

"Something about breathing."

"I need the full definition, Em."

"It measures lung function by calculating how much you inhale and exhale," she answered between heavy breaths.

"That's right," Ali said, leaning down to reward her. She stopped sooner than expected, earning a frustrated groan from Emily, and looked to the notebook again to pose more questions. Already tired of dragging it out, it didn't take long for her to quit the study method after Em defined supramaximal exercise and another exceedingly long word, and it became clear that she knew the material.

She was ready to finish her job when the doorbell rang and they both shot up in bed.

They hadn't had a single visitor since they arrived here, aside from the mailman, and he didn't ring doorbells at night.

Emily jumped up and threw on a robe. Ali frantically reached for her clothes strung across the bed and tried to put them on fast enough to follow her fiancée out of the room. By the time she made it to the living room, Em was already at the door, peeking through the peep hole.

"Who is it?" Ali whispered, hoping whoever was on the other side would give up and leave.

Emily started unlocking the door.

"What are you doing?" Ali questioned her, loudly, but by the time the words were out, the door was open and she had her answer.

Spencer Hastings and Toby Cavanaugh were standing on the other side.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I definitely meant to upload this on Monday. I've had a few distractions this week, but the good news is the next chapter will be up sooner rather than later. I just need to read through it and edit. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! The ending is kinda abrupt because the chapter was originally way too long so I split it.**

* * *

"What are you guys doing here?" Alison asked as Emily took Spencer's duffel bag and ushered her and Toby into the living room. "Not that we aren't happy to see you, but this was a little unexpected."

"Yeah, sorry, we couldn't tell if our texts went through. Hopping on the plane was a last-minute decision," Spencer explained. She surveyed the living room, eyeing the old hardwood floor and white walls that still looked plain from lack of decoration.

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked.

"Everything's good," Toby answered. "Hollis is closed tomorrow and Spencer had some extra vacation days from work. We wanted to take advantage of the long weekend, so we flew to the first place that came to mind."

"That's okay with you guys, right?" Spencer asked cautiously, though she seemed to visibly relax when Alison and Emily nodded.

"We could use some company, actually," Ali assured her, pulling her cousin into a tight hug.

"Sorry for waking you up," Spencer said as she pulled back.

"You didn't…" Ali started to say before looking down at the shirt she'd pulled on hastily upon jumping out of bed and wondering if it was inside out.

Emily, tugging her thin robe tighter around her, added, "Trust me, we're used to it."

As if on cue, they heard a low whimpering coming from the baby monitor. Alison and Emily froze in place, as if staying completely silent and not moving a muscle was all it took to delay one child's crying from waking up the other and forcing them to start the long bedtime routine all over again.

Thankfully, the whimpers subsided, and the monitor was quiet again. Ali breathed out a sigh of relief and brought a finger to her lips, signaling the others to keep their voices down.

"Maybe we should catch up in the morning," Toby whispered.

"We don't have a guest room," Emily said in an equally low voice, "but I can get some blankets to put on the sofa for tonight. I'll blow up the air mattress tomorrow after I get off from work."

"That's fine," Spencer said. "Honestly, I could probably fall asleep on the floor right now."

She looked tired, Ali thought. There were dark circles under her eyes, the same circles that had all but taken up permanent residence on her face when their attempts to track down A went horribly wrong. Over the past year, she'd looked healthier. Happier.

But the other hallmarks of Crisis Spencer- the tangled hair, mix-matched clothes, and jumpiness- weren't here. Maybe dark, drowsy circles under eyes didn't have to signal trauma anymore.

Ali helped Emily pull the extra blankets out of the storage closet for their guests. After Spencer and Toby were settled, she snuggled alongside her fiancée back in bed, whispering that with their friends here, maybe they could finally go on a date and have time to themselves without interruption.

That thought was nice enough to lull them to sleep.

* * *

Stifling a yawn, Emily brought her coffee mug to the machine in the teacher's lounge and watched as it refilled. Two cups would have to suffice; any more might make her too jittery to survive classes.

She surveyed the room filled with unfamiliar teachers gathered for the mandatory Friday faculty meeting. After nodding politely toward the head swim coach, she made her way around the edge of the room, back to the seats she and Alison had claimed.

She was halfway there when she saw another teacher take the seat on the opposite side of Ali. A man, maybe in his thirties. They were turned toward each other, talking.

A moment later, they both turned around in their seats, looking in her direction, but Emily was too far out of earshot to hear what they were saying. Not being in the know always made her uneasy. She stiffened her hold on her mug as she finally reached the seats, catching only a fragment of the conversation.

"I know," Ali told the man, nodding toward Emily with a look of pure adoration.

Emily could never get over Alison DiLaurentis looking at her like that, no matter how frequently it happened since they got together. It was still enough to leave words caught in her throat.

"Em, this is Kyle. We work on the same prom planning committee," Alison said. "Kyle, this is Emily, my fiancée."

"Nice to meet you," Kyle said, extending a hand in greeting.

"You too," Emily responded. She shook his hand and then leaned back into her seat, sipping her coffee.

"Where did y'all move here from?" Kyle asked.

Alison answered, "Rosewood, Pennsylvania."

"It's not too far from Philly," Emily added.

Kyle nodded in understanding. "Ah, I passed through there once on my way to New York."

The conversation died down. Emily's thoughts returned to her upcoming test and the class presentation she'd be late for if she didn't leave here in twenty minutes. Too anxious to sit still, she shifted in her seat, almost spilling her coffee in the process. Why hadn't the meeting started by now?

Alison must've noticed because she rested a comforting hand on Emily's shoulder and rubbed little circles with her thumb. Emily almost relaxed from the touch until she noticed a few teachers across the room staring in their direction. Ali noticed, too. She pulled her hand away hesitantly, frowning.

"Don't worry about them, Ali. They can think what they want," Emily told her.

"They should mind their own business," the blonde retorted. She decided to rest her hand on Emily again, this time over her arm.

Kyle let out a sigh. Emily had almost forgotten he was there.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that," he said looking at each of them, but focusing mostly on Alison. "Pennsylvania's probably not as backwards, huh?"

"I guess," Alison said. "It doesn't matter. At least they're smart enough to keep their mouths shut."

Another pause. "Listen, I didn't mean anything by what I said yesterday," he told her, and Emily perked up, suddenly very in tune to the conversation.

Alison looked down, away from Emily's questioning eyes, and brushed a thread off the bottom of her shirt. "I know. I wasn't directing that at you."

"What did you say to her?" Emily asked him.

" _Em_ ," Ali said in warning.

Kyle blinked in realization and then looked abashed. "I thought she might've told you…It was nothing. Just an ignorant assumption about her not wearing a ring."

Emily leaned forward so she was facing him. "An assumption? What exactly do you mean by that?"

A thousand scenarios raced through her mind, all starting with the possibility of him assuming Ali was single and trying to hit on her. Did he infer that she was lying about being engaged if she turned him down? Question the legitimacy of her relationship altogether? Make a comment about her being too feminine to propose?

Emily turned to Ali when Kyle didn't answer immediately.

"It was less about the ring and more about other teachers, which I'm pretty sure you're already aware of," Ali said, keeping her voice low so others couldn't listen in. "People like to gossip about new employees. Even if we weren't together, I'm sure they'd find something else to talk about."

"Why didn't you tell me people were giving you a hard time?"

"No one's giving me a hard time," Alison told her. "And, anyway, I didn't want you to react like _this_ when you were already stressed about your exam."

The principal finally approached the podium and the meeting commenced before Emily could question her further. It began with a drawn out moment of silent reflection for Laura Royce, who'd been an active part of the school community. The administrators took the opportunity to review the evidence found at the crime scene- traces of blood on a tree and glass fragments on the ground- and assure the faculty that the incident's proximity to the school had no impact on the safety of the workplace.

Honestly, at this point, the missing case was just another thing weighing on Emily's mind after what happened yesterday with her classmate, and she was getting tired. She'd woken up at 4:30 a.m. after her dream started with Rachel panicking about the crime scene and shifted to a nightmare about a body being dug up and being identified as Alison. Adult Alison, gone, leaving Emily with a shattered heart and two kids to raise on her own.

Emily shuddered, pushing that thought out of her mind. It didn't help to see Alison listening intently to the administrators as if they were delivering the most important speech in the world. Either because she was still overly invested in the crime reports or because she was avoiding Emily's eyes after their almost-argument. Probably both. Definitely both.

It was even more difficult to pay attention when the meeting shifted to mundane campus matters. As the assistant swim coach, Emily was hardly in the main building. She didn't particularly care about prom planning or cafeteria menus or anything else the faculty was meant to decide on.

Every now and then, she glanced over at Alison, who was still staring forward and listening intently. The other teacher, Kyle, was listening too, but every now and then, Emily would catch him looking at Alison before quickly redirecting his gaze forward. Emily rolled her eyes at that.

Crossing her arms, she leaned back in her chair and seriously considered staying there for the whole meeting even though doing so would put her at risk of being late for her morning class. She wasn't sure if the purpose of it would be to talk to Alison after and get the full story about whatever happened with the other teacher or just to draw attention to the fact that she was in a sour mood.

The more she thought it over, the more it immature it felt. The wall clock inching forward in time told her to leave; the closer it got to 7:45, the more it felt like a ticking time bomb. She couldn't afford to be late.

Scooping up her bag, she whispered a terse goodbye to Alison and exited as discreetly as possible, trying to avoid looking back at the blonde's regretful expression.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. It was a struggle to get to school when she was tempted to bail and go home to Spencer, Toby, and her kids instead. She arrived at class just as her team members were preparing to present their assigned chapters, looking like deer in headlights in front of the class without the PowerPoint saved to Emily's flash drive.

Once she was there, the presentation went fine. Not perfect but good enough. Whatever.

"No twenty questions today?" Rachel's voice asked from behind as Emily stuffed a binder into her schoolbag and pulled out study notes for the test in her next class.

"No," she answered simply. She got up to leave, but Rachel was blocking her way, looking irritated and defensive as if she were being cornered and not voluntarily starting a conversation.

"You cared a lot more yesterday."

"Yeah, well you didn't want my help, so I'm not going to try," Emily snapped. She felt a lump in her throat immediately after. What if this girl really was hurting and needed support?

"She was my aunt. Laura was," Rachel said. Emily froze in place against her will.

"I know it sounds weird. She wasn't much older than me. My mom had me at fifteen and got kicked out of the house when Laura was just a kid. Classy, right?" she continued, stuffing her hands into her hoodie.

Emily didn't answer. She listened in silence, waiting for the rest of the story to come.

But it didn't. "And what?" Emily finally asked. "What happened?"

"Nothing. That's the point." Rachel's voice rose slightly with each word. "We barely spoke to each other and that's it. So you can take your assumptions about me being a victim and-"

"I'm leaving now," Emily announced, her tolerance and sympathy draining away.

* * *

Later in the evening, Emily pulled into the gravel driveway of the rental house and parked next to Alison's car. Sometimes she met Emily after swim practice, and other times she drove straight home, depending on how fussy the twins were. With Spencer and Toby visiting, it wasn't a shock that she chose to come home earlier. (Although Emily suspected she might have made the same choice even if they didn't have guests, just to avoid continuing the conversation from the teacher's lounge.)

She walked through the front door, keys in hand, still in a grumpy mood, but she softened immediately when she saw the scene in the living room.

Toby was building a gigantic blanket fort for the girls while Spencer stood on the side and instructed him where to attach the sheets to give it the best support. Grace and Lily had apparently dragged Alison under the blankets with them because they were sprawled out on her lap, and a good ten to fifteen toys were circled around the three of them.

"Hey, how did your test go?" Alison asked when she saw Emily walk in.

"I think it went fine," she answered, walking forward and kneeling to join her family. She looked up at Spencer and Toby. "I can't believe you guys did all this."

"It's what the girls wanted," Toby laughed. "We started with two blankets and they kept asking for more."

"Toby's built houses before. This is literally child's play in comparison," Spencer chimed in. "In all seriousness, it was fun and the girls have been good."

She paused to secure one of the blanket edges in between some sofa cushions. "I tried teaching them to say Aunt Spencer," she continued, "They were able to pronounce some of the individual syllables, but when we put it all together, Grace insisted on calling me Ho-sey."

"That's what she calls horses," Alison explained. "She remembers you taking her to see Bashful."

"I guess you'll have to settle on being Aunt Horsey for a while," Emily told her friend with a grin. Upon hearing that, Grace clapped her little hands together and squealed.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Spencer teased her.

"Spence, can I get a little help over here?" Toby asked after his side collapsed. Spencer hurried over to help fix it.

Emily looked over at Alison, who was quietly watching Lily and Grace rearrange their toys. "I'm sorry about how I reacted earlier at the meeting. It wasn't the time or place to demand answers like that," the brunette said in a soft voice.

Alison looked up to meet her eyes, tilting her head slightly as she listened. Emily bit her lip as she tried to decide on the best way to voice her thoughts and decided on saying, "I just wish you would've told me everything. We're in this together."

"We are," Alison agreed. "No one's giving me trouble. The other teachers haven't even talked to me. With Kyle, it was just one stupid comment."

Ali answered the next question before it was even asked. "He assumed I was trying to hide the fact that I'm engaged, or that I was upset about something at home and took off my ring. I don't know, I the way he phrased it was strange," she explained. "He apologized. It doesn't matter."

Emily considered the information. "Okay, but was he… do you think he was trying to hit on you, before that conversation happened? Because that's the vibe I got today when he kept looking at you," she admitted. Even just saying the words made her skin crawl.

"That's not how I took it, but I guess it's possible," Alison said with a shrug, and it wasn't exactly the answer Emily wanted to hear. "Is that what you're worried about?"

It took her a second to realize Ali was trying to hide a smirk as she asked that question. "What's so funny about that?"

"For a second there, it sounded like you were jealous." There was a knowing glint in her eyes.

"Hey, you're in no position to make fun of me. Do I need to remind you how you acted when Paige was around?" Emily asked.

"No, I remember quite clearly."

"Well then you remember that it's not a joke. I'm serious, Ali. I think any person- guy or girl or coworker or stranger, _whoever_ \- who keeps hanging around and stealing glances at you after finding out you're engaged is skeevy as hell."

"Then that hypothetical person is wasting their time because you're the only person I think about in that way. I promise I'm all yours. You know that, right?"

"I know. You're right," Emily sighed. "I shouldn't have brought it up. It wasn't even a big deal. Just seeing that on top of everything I was already stressed about put me even more on edge."

"Trust me, I get it," Ali told her, brushing a hand against her thigh. "I'm not keeping anything from you. I really was going to tell you after you got through your test."

"Everything okay on this side?" Spencer asked, peeking through a blanket tunnel from the side she and Toby fixed. The question was phrased like she was asking about the stability of the fort, but Emily knew she must've overheard their conversation.

Answering both potential questions, Emily nodded and said, "Everything's good."

She turned her attention back to the babies after Grace yanked an Elsa doll from Lily's grasp.

"Grace, that's not nice," Emily gently scolded her. She pulled Lily against her chest and handed the doll back to her. "Look, there's other toys for you to play with. Blocks, your cars, Mr. Bear…"

"What about Toothless?" Ali suggested, holding up the dragon toy for her. That got Grace's attention immediately. Within seconds, she was on Ali's lap again, reaching for the toy.

When the twins were only a few months old, they tended to gravitate toward Emily more. It had been a sore spot with Alison after one day at the Brew when their friends pointed out both babies cried when Emily wasn't holding them. As time progressed and they settled into the routines of parenthood, it became clear the twins loved them both equally.

Upon grabbing her Toothless toy, Grace pulled her pacifier out her mouth and smacked her gums together, showing off her teeth. When they bought her the toy, they'd joked several times that the dragon was toothless just like her and her sister.

"You're not toothless anymore, silly," Ali said. Grace pulled a perplexed face in response, one that Ali always said made her look just like Em.

Spencer and Toby crawled over so the six of them were crouched together in the space created by the blankets. Despite being crowded, it felt cozy and comforting, like a callback to a childhood memory. Spencer and Toby had even hung some soft glowing nightlights to illuminate the space.

"It's crazy how you understand what they're saying even when they don't speak," Toby said.

"You'll do the same when you have kids," Emily said, joyfully bouncing Lily on her lap, the stress of the work week gone.

"Maybe one day," Toby agreed, and Spencer cleared her throat.

Emily and Alison exchanged a glance, but then Spencer was quick to say, "It hasn't even been too long since you guys moved here, but I feel like you left with two babies and now you have toddlers."

"Careful, Em hates the 'T' word," Alison said, looking at her fiancée with a teasing glance. "In her mind, they're still our tiny babies."

"And they always will be," Emily insisted.

"I left my coffee on the table. I'll be right back," Spencer announced, crawling out of the fort.

"What was that about?" Ali asked Toby when she was out of earshot.

Toby looked out to check on her before sitting back down and taking the Elsa doll Lily had been straining to hand him. "Spencer and I have been taking things slow, and I think she's just a little overwhelmed about all her friends getting married and having kids. She has enough going on right now so I'm not going to push it. It's best to drop it."

Emily was prepared to change the subject and ask about Rosewood and Hollis, but Spencer returned with a question of her own.

"Have you done the cake tasting for your wedding yet? Toby and I saw a bakery on ride here advertising wedding cakes," she said. "We thought you might be interested in going tomorrow evening while we stay with the twins. I'm sure you're in need of some time to yourselves."

"Yeah, definitely! We would love that," Alison answered for them a little too enthusiastically while Emily was busy contemplating whether they should be talking about their upcoming wedding after what Toby just said.

Then she allowed herself to think about it. They'd already fallen behind on wedding planning in the short month since they'd been here. She could spend a night with Alison tasting cake and going out on an actual date, something they'd never had much chance to do. Emily loved Lily and Grace more than the world itself, but she suddenly craved the traditional Saturday night out other young couples got to enjoy all the time.

"That would be great, if you guys don't mind," Emily agreed. "And if Ali and I are going out alone tomorrow, we should all go somewhere together tonight."

"Like a double date?" Toby asked.

"Exactly."

* * *

Just a note about Spencer and Toby, even though I'm not as invested in them as Emily and Alison, I recognize spoby fans really got the short end of the stick in the last season. I think they are good together, but I'm also kind of glad that not all the girls were married with kids at the end of the show because that's true to life. That's something I wanted to explore a little in this chapter and the next.

On another non story related topic, these hurricanes have been stressing me out because I live on the Gulf Coast. Luckily, I am not in the direct path of Irma, but I sincerely hope everyone stays safe!


	5. Chapter 5

With one last glance in the twins' room to check on the little girls napping in their cribs, Alison made her way through the living room as Spencer finished taking down the blanket fort they'd constructed earlier.

Spencer looked up as she passed by. Still gripping a blanket in her hand, she said, "If you're looking for Emily and Toby, they're outside on the porch."

"Em wanted to go for a walk before we get ready for dinner tonight," Ali told her as she slipped on her sneakers and pulled her long hair up into a messy bun. "You should come with us."

"Sure," Spencer agreed, and the two of them stepped out onto the wooden patio. Their significant others were both sitting on the porch swing, laughing at something on Emily's phone. They looked up as the front door closed.

"Ready?" Emily asked her.

Ali nodded. "Yeah, Spence is going to come with us."

"Sounds good."

The three of them stepped out into the yard and circled to the back of the house where the trees parted, creating an entrance to something resembling an unpaved nature trail. The trees were still predominately bare from winter, with only a few sprouting new growth, but it was still beautiful and peaceful. Ali grabbed hold of Emily's hand as they walked.

"So what's been going on in Rosewood?" Emily asked Spencer.

"Same old, same old," Spencer said. "Such is the busy life of a Hastings."

"Well being a Hastings has its advantages," Emily said. "That includes super intelligence and the ability to multi-task. I don't know how you're acing law school and working and dating and running the Lost Woods all at the same time without collapsing from exhaustion."

"You're doing most of those things, too," Spencer pointed out. "You seem fine."

"Yeah, I guess I am," Emily said, blinking in realization. It was sad to think she didn't understand just how much she was accomplishing. Ali squeezed her hand tighter, giving her a small smile, and the brunette smiled back.

"You're dealing with even more when you take the house and two kids into account," Spencer added.

Ali remembered what Toby said earlier, about them taking their relationship slow and how Spencer cleared her throat at the mention of them having kids. Maybe there were a few instances where she or Emily or their friends joked that it was only a matter of months before they had another wedding to plan. Alison never thought much of those comments, but now curiosity got the best of her.

"So you and Toby, how has that been?" Alison asked innocently.

"It's been good," Spencer admitted. She paused to examine a bush that was sprouting berries, but Ali and Emily could see she was smiling to herself. "Really good, actually."

Seeming to understand Alison's thoughts, Emily said, "We're happy for you. Just remember it's your life and you don't have to follow anyone else's timeline but your own."

"There's no need to rush into anything," Ali finished.

After she and Emily first got together, Spencer had pulled her aside one night and told her the same words, emphasizing that she needed to be sure of her feelings and not make any rash decisions because of an unplanned pregnancy. Little did she know, finally starting a relationship with Emily was nearly a decade in the making. Anything but rushed, in Ali's opinion, and she felt more confident about the future they'd chosen together than she had with anything else in her life.

"Okay, where is all this coming from?" Spencer asked. "I never said I was rushing into anything." She focused hard on nothing in particular, deep in thought, before freezing in place. "Wait, did Toby say anything? Do you think he's planning something?"

"Planning what?" Emily asked. She always took words for what they meant on the surface and rarely looked for hidden agendas. That part of her, the goodness and innocence, was part of the reason Alison loved her.

But Ali knew right away Spencer was referring to a surprise proposal, and by the look on her face, it was clear that wasn't something she was ready for.

"No, no, I'm pretty sure he's not," Alison shook her head. "He just mentioned you might've been feeling overwhelmed about us and Aria and Han talking about weddings and kids. Do you think that's something Toby wants soon?"

"The reason why we broke up in college was because our plans for the future looked different," Spencer said. "I think they're more aligned now with me staying in Rosewood and actually _wanting_ to be there. But, I don't know, he was ready to start a family with Yvonne last year. I see him with Lily and Grace, and I think I want that someday. Just not in the immediate future."

Ali wondered when she became the one in their friend group to feel the most secure about the future. For years, it had been the opposite. She went through a long period of trying on personalities without understanding who she was, and she remembered all too well how it felt to be uncertain.

"Look, Spencer, I said this to Emily about her career, but I think it applies here too: You won't know until you know. You have years to decide if you want marriage and kids."

"Toby's not the kind of person to rush that decision," Emily reminded her. "Just remember we love and support you no matter who you're with or what path you decide to take."

"Okay, I love you guys too, but this is headed in a really sappy direction really fast," Spencer laughed. "And for the record, you can talk about your wedding and kids as much around me as much as you want. I mean, you guys are getting married! That's incredible."

"Yeah, it is. We're excited," Ali agreed, looking down at the path in front of her, a shy smile gracing her lips. She focused on her steps. This was the part of the path that went uphill, and she knew the trail would soon come to an end.

"We still need to pick out flower girl dresses for Lily and Grace," Emily said. "I'm not sure what size they'll be in by October, but they already love dressing in matching outfits and copying what the other says. It must be a twin thing."

Realizing her mistake, Emily, rushed to rephrase the sentence.

Before she could, Spencer said, "It's cute until one impersonates the other and tries to steal her life." Laughing, albeit a little bitterly, she continued, "I'm just kidding. As far as I'm concerned, I only have one sister."

All three of them fell into a hushed silence after that. It was an unspoken rule not to bring up Charlotte or Alex, or hell, even Mona most of the time, at risk of jinxing their happiness. Only eight months had passed since the final incident. There was a peace period of five years between the second and third A, so it still seemed far too early to talk about it like a worry of the distant past. Especially considering Alex and Mary were still alive, rotting in prison somewhere.

Spencer had grown close to Mary Drake last year before she turned herself in. She was Spencer's biological mother and Alison's aunt, but every time Ali saw her, all she saw was her mother who she hadn't spoken to since she was 15 and rebellious. Who she could never speak to again.

When she was on the run, Alison collected stacks and stacks of apologies, all scribbled on sticky notes or napkins or postcards so she wouldn't forget even the most mundane regret once she got home. All those apologies she'd addressed to her mom never had a chance to be heard.

Some transgressions were too serious to forgive. And as for Alex Drake, well, Alison couldn't care less about her well-being.

The three of them continued the uphill trek, Spencer walking ahead. She wiped some sweat from her brow and looked on in confusion when the trees gave way to the side of a road.

"Here's where we loop back around the block to get back to the house," Emily said.

They walked onto the street that was thankfully clear of cars and continued along the slight downward slope. It wasn't long until they passed a familiar poster.

Spencer squinted at the sign as they approached it. "You have to be kidding me."

Meeting her friend's eyes, Ali said, "It follows us everywhere, doesn't it?"

"No," Emily interjected. "We have nothing to do with this woman going missing. It's a coincidence. I just feel a bad for the girl in my class, even if she does have an attitude problem…"

"Wait, what girl?" Spencer asked.

"The one you mentioned yesterday?" Ali questioned. "Did you find out what that was about?"

Emily bit her lip. "I don't know and I'm not welcome to ask any more, apparently. All she told me was that they were family. Laura was her aunt."

"Seriously?" The gears started turning in Ali's head. "Well does she look suspicious at all?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"It always comes back to family, Em. We've seen that firsthand."

"What evidence do they have so far in the case?" Spencer asked, her voice shifting into the fast paced, hyper-focused tone she used in A investigations. It was almost scary how quickly she slipped back into that mindset.

Before Alison could tell her police found blood on a tree and suspected blunt force trauma, or that there was another woman who went missing and was found a few months before they moved here, Emily spoke up and said, "Guys, can we _please_ not talk about this? It's not our problem and I'm so sick of hearing about it every single day."

The words caught in Ali's throat and she couldn't help but wonder if Emily was directing that statement at her.

* * *

Later, in the car, Ali scanned through radio channels while they drove to dinner. Their vehicle didn't allow enough room for everyone when toddlers and car seats and diaper bags claimed the back seats, so Spencer and Toby opted to take an Uber earlier. They were to all meet up again at the restaurant.

All the radio stations were a mix of country and static. Emily was dressed up and her raven hair fell over her shoulders in perfect waves. She looked so beautiful, but Ali could hardly focus on her or the radio because her mind was too preoccupied.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked Emily, who looked over at her briefly before refocusing her eyes on the road.

"Yeah, of course. Anything," Emily said.

Somewhere inside of her, Ali knew her concerns were insignificant, but she was always conscious about how what she said affected Emily. "What you said earlier about the missing case…I didn't know you felt so strongly about it. Have I been talking about it too much?"

"Huh?" Emily asked. Her being taken off guard only reaffirmed in Alison's mind that she was making a big deal out of nothing.

"No, it's not just you I was talking about," Emily answered after processing the question. "It's the whole town. But I don't think you or Spencer should get too involved with it, either."

"There's nothing to get involved in," Alison said. "It's not like I'm going to steal an officer uniform and start searching through evidence."

"Been there, done that," Emily said with a weak laugh. "Although it was a candy striper outfit last time if I remember right." For a few beats, it was quiet except for the hum of the highway and music from the movie the twins were watching in the back seat. Then Emily meekly asked, "Can I ask you something, too?"

"Of course. Anything," Alison said, stealing her words from earlier, but she felt a little uneasy on the inside at what might become a serious turn in the conversation.

"Is all of this digging up too many bad memories?" She bit her lip and added, "No, don't answer that. It's a stupid question. It digs up bad memories for me, too. Enough to give me nightmares."

Alison knitted her brows in concern. Emily had been restless at night lately, but there wasn't much she could do to chase away the fears that culminated in her sleep.

"What I'm really wondering," Emily continued, "is if it goes back to what you went through, or if it's making you think about what happened to Addison a few months back. You were pretty shaken after that. It worried me."

Ali shifted in her seat and fiddled with the seatbelt. "Well, it's hard not to be shaken when the cops are banging at your door basically accusing you of murder until you give them an alibi."

When Addison first went missing, Ali imagined her on the run, either scared for her life or living luxuriously, selfishly, and laughing at those who searched for her. There was no in between.

Then the body was found. This time, there was no confusion over the identification; no body swaps or mental patients in similar clothing on the loose; no question over who was in the grave.

"I don't know what to feel about Addison," Ali continued. Guilt settled in her stomach even though she'd done nothing. That was the problem, wasn't it? She'd done nothing. "I was her teacher. I should've steered her the right way instead of fighting with her in the hallways."

Emily nodded slowly, seeming to understand. "We both should have."

"And look, I'm not saying I want to get involved in this Laura Royce case, but if you're able to get any more information from the girl in your class, can we agree to go to the cops this time?"

Emily gripped the steering wheel tight. When she spoke, her voice was firm. "Alison, turning ourselves into targets again won't change what happened in Rosewood. I'll hear Rachel out if she wants to talk, but I'm not investigating another damn murder, okay?"

Ali wanted to refute that, to snip that Emily was supposed to be the one who's good and fights for people and saves them, but she knew doing so would only cause a bigger argument. Another screw up courtesy of Alison DiLaurentis. She'd already messed up once by not telling Emily about her little confrontation with Kyle at school.

"Fine. I'll stop," she said before biting her tongue and looking out the window, blinking back tears that shouldn't even be there in the first place and wondering why she even cared about all of this.

Thinking back to earlier, she realized Emily and a multitude of other people in the world feared the future, but others, like her, were still paralyzed by the past.

"Ali, I'm not upset with you. I just can't put our family at risk," Emily told her with a sigh.

"I know."

A tension-filled silence clogged the space between them until they pulled up at the restaurant. They went to unbuckle their daughters from the car seats when Emily looked across at her, trying to determine how to cheer her up.

She turned off the Disney movie the twins were watching, cutting off Elsa's singing mid song, and told Ali, "When we go out tomorrow, maybe we can finally watch a movie that isn't animated. We've seen _Frozen_ at least a hundred times."

Alison smiled against her will at that thought. As she finished unbuckling Lily, Emily stepped around to the other side of the car with Grace and pulled Ali into a bear hug.

"Stop, I'm still trying to get Lily out," Ali said, but her voice was lighter and she certainly wasn't fighting the hug. She relaxed into it, closing her eyes for a moment before gently pulling away to lift her child.

"I'm sorry for opening old wounds," Emily said as she pulled back.

"I thought about it and realized you're probably right," Ali decided. She still felt off, filled with misplaced guilt and the knowledge that the conversation hadn't been completely resolved, but the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to throw a band-aid over it now and deal with the feelings later. "It's been a long day. Let's enjoy our night."

Hand in hand, they entered the restaurant, an upscale steakhouse, and immediately located Spencer and Toby in one of the booths. Soon a hostess took their drink orders and they situated Grace and Lily at the end of the table in high chairs, though they usually preferred sitting on someone's lap.

Ali could count on one hand the number of times they'd gone out as a family to a fancy restaurant since the girls were born. Alison prayed they would behave and not start crying or slinging around food because her tolerance wasn't at its highest. Grace was already banging on her high chair with a soup spoon while Lily chewed on the bottom of her sippy cup, so they weren't off to the best start.

"Grace, you can have the spoon after Mommy orders the yummy food, okay?" she said, gently taking the silverware away from her.

Just then, Ali jolted to attention when she heard a familiar voice asking for their order. She only knew a small handful of people in this town and hadn't expected to see anyone here.

She looked up and recognized the girl as Maci, one of the students from her English class. Maci seemed to pinpoint that she was serving her teacher at the same moment.

"Ms. DiLaurentis, I didn't expect to see you here," she said, placing the drinks on the table and surveying everyone in the booth, eyes flashing from her to Emily and Spencer and Toby and then to the babies.

"We were due for a night out," Ali said.

"Looks like you're living the American Dream, aren't you? Just like we talked about in class," she said. There was something off about the delivery of the words that Ali couldn't quite discern. She got the feeling they were supposed to be friendly but ended up falling flat. "I'll take your order now," she said, pulling out a notebook.

After she recorded the orders, she was gone, and Emily said, "That girl just joined the swim team. I heard she was already on it last year, but her mom pulled her last semester to focus on her grades."

"That's weird. She seems like a good student. A good writer, at least," Ali said as she sipped her wine.

"So how are you teaching the American Dream?" Spencer asked, resting her chin on her hands and looking over pensively. "Is America the golden land of opportunity, or are you viewing it from a more fatalistic _Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman_ lens?"

"Well, considering those are both on the eleventh grade reading list, I guess in a more fatalistic way, but it's up to them to analyze it," Ali said.

"I don't think it should be about money or success," Emily said. "I see it as freedom. Freedom to build a life with who you want and make choices without being threatened or forced into them."

"The three of you understand the value of that more than anyone," Toby said, raising his glass. "To freedom."

The four of them leaned forward and clinked their drinks together. Alison linked arms with Emily after, grateful they'd survived A and that she had the chance to make this woman her home. Despite the disagreements they'd had earlier in the day, there was no place she'd rather be right now.

Spencer's phone chimed, and none of them flinched like they might have at one time. "It's Aria," she said. "She sent me some pictures of the movie set for _Then and Now_."

Emily examined the picture of a set transformed into a South American jungle. "I still can't believe they're making a movie. Tell her we're proud of her."

"And tell her she still hasn't sent me and Em the list of recommendations she put together after her honeymoon in France," Ali said.

"Oh yeah," Emily said, nodding toward Alison. "Well, at least we know the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre are at the top of our itinerary."

"We're visiting some gardens and doing the Seine River cruise, too," Ali told their friends.

"Consider us jealous," Toby said, looking at Spencer fondly, albeit a little cautiously.

"Paris was on the top of my sightseeing list until recently," Spencer said, glancing back at Toby. "They have a right to know," she told him.

"What? Did something happen?" Emily asked.

Toby frowned. "I know, I agree. But this was supposed to be your weekend to relax. It could've waited till later."

"Hold on, what's going on?" Alison asked. They were hiding something massive; she could sense it. The more she thought about it, she realized people didn't just jump on a plane to get away for no reason.

When no one answered right away, she pushed harder. "Don't just sit there. _Tell us_."

"Mary and Alex are in France," Spencer said, saying the words fast like she'd been dying to spill them for weeks.

"What do you mean they're in France?" Emily asked. "They're in jail. We watched them get arrested."

"Spencer went to visit them and found no record of either woman being there, so she investigated," Toby explained quietly, rubbing his temples.

Ali felt an unexpected burst of anger bubble inside her, and she finally understood why Emily was upset about her mentioning the Royce case. There was no use looking for trouble and trying to bring toxic people into their lives.

And yet, underneath the anger, Alison completely understood why Spencer acted the way she did and knew she might've done the same. Just like when she sided with Charlotte even when everyone warned her against it.

"They were arrested in France for multiple counts of trespassing in shops to steal food," Spencer said. "And here's the best part: There's still no record of how they became Parisian fugitives. I can only assume they escaped from prison once, meaning they're capable of doing it again."

"But they're still in another country, locked up far away from us, right?" Emily asked. "So we don't have to worry about them showing up at your doorstep."

"That's not the point. Don't you get it? It's going to start again one day!" Spencer cried out at a higher volume than what was appropriate in a restaurant, tears brimming in her eyes. "Forget freedom! How are we supposed to ever feel safe with the Drakes out there?"

Several people stared in their direction after Spencer's outburst and Lily burst into tears. Maci approached with their food and stopped a few feet away from the table when she saw the scene.

Spencer pushed her way out of the booth and went to the nearest bathroom. Emily started to follow her, then looked at Lily who was frightened and crying, unsure of what to do.

Maci cleared her throat and set the food down on the table before making her exit as soon as she could.

"You guys should stay here. She needs to cool off," Toby told them after the waitress was gone. "She's been like this for a week. Mrs. Hastings suggested she take a few days off from work to get herself sorted."

"So the law firm wasn't closed? She just needed a mental health vacation?" Emily asked as she reached for Lily.

"More or less," Toby said. Alison was reminded that life goes on in Rosewood, separate from what they were dealing with here.

"She needs support," Alison said. "Let her see she has all the family she needs right here and in Rosewood."

"That's what I've been trying to do," Toby said with a weak smile. "She was there for me and I want to be there for her. Hold on a sec." He looked in the direction of the bathroom and decided to go wait outside the doors.

"Ugh," Emily moaned, closing her eyes. "This is a disaster." Lily finally quieted until her cries to a soft whimper just as Grace began crying for attention, not one to be outdone by her sister.

Alison pulled their other crying child out of the high chair. "The public humiliation or the Mary and Alex thing?"

"Both," Emily said.

"I understand what you meant earlier, about how we shouldn't go looking for trouble when we're already in the clear. I guess Spencer and I get stuck in the past sometimes," Ali said softly.

She looked up to meet Emily's eyes. "The game doesn't end when family is involved. Especially when your tormentor is genetically identical to you. Can you imagine how that must feel? How damaging it is to think that someone just like you is capable of horrible things, and how everything might've changed if the past had played out differently?"

"I can't exactly relate, but I know that's how you felt with Charlotte," Emily said. "I know you loved her in spite of everything, and I know how it feels to lose a family member. Spencer lost two she didn't even have a chance to get to know."

Alison nodded. "Exactly. I understand why she looked for them, even if it was a bad decision. I just hope the Drakes stay far away from us." Feeling small and vulnerable, she debated whether to continue before saying, "And I think my problem with the disappearances, with Addison and Laura Royce, is that it's hard to watch people go through what I did and not get a second chance. It makes me wonder why I deserved to live more than them."

She blinked away the tears that threatened to form, determined to keep them at bay.

"Ali," Emily sighed, reaching over to her to brush a piece of hair away from her face. "I can't answer why you survived, but I'm thankful every day that you did."

The words sat heavy on Alison's heart. She wasn't sure if she could respond and keep her composure.

They looked up to see Spencer and Toby coming back to the table, the former looking much more composed than before.

Immediately, they straightened up and repositioned Grace and Lily on their laps so they could reach their entrees on the table. Act natural. Keep Spencer calm. If possible, have a normal rest of the night.

* * *

A/N: Hmm, not sure what to say down here, but the next chapter is considerably lighter and more fluffy than this one. This was a character study of sorts, about what worries them deep down. I also wanted to give a little follow-up on Mary and Alex since that's still a concern back in Rosewood, but they aren't going to be involved in the remainder of the story.

Since I can't PM the guest reviewers, I just want you to know I appreciate it a lot and I love reading your thoughts!

T: I really loved reading your reviews. I agree with your perspective. I'd like to explore Emily's side as well because while her caring nature is a great quality, she is protective to a fault at times.

For one of the guest reviewers, I'm glad you are excited about how the story is going and seemed to pick up on some of the hints I've been leaving :)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Uploading two chapters today. Don't worry, I'm still writing. I started a job recently so I've been figuring out my new schedule, which has been cool but very tiring. Anyway I hope y'all enjoy. This is sort of a bonus chapter not entirely advancing the plot, but I wanted to write fluff :p That's why I'm uploading the next one too. Review if you'd like! I love reading them.**

* * *

An impressive amount of wedding cake samples filled the tables set up in the middle of the small bakery. Along with Alison, Emily walked along the tables row by row, listening to the host's suggestions and tasting every cake flavor from vanilla sponge to mousse-filled chocolate mint and coconut.

Emily grabbed a bite-sized piece of an apple cinnamon cake with her fork and savored the taste. Delectable. All the samples were incredible and the smell of the whole room was so sweet it made her want to try baking as a hobby again, even if it hadn't worked out so well in the past.

Her eyes flitted over to Alison.

They'd both dressed nice for the occasion, planning on turning the evening into a date night. She couldn't help but admire how beautiful Alison looked as she tasted a bit of frosting on the tip of her fork. With a pensive look, she looked for the host to share her thoughts, long blonde curls swaying around her as she turned.

When they walked in for the cake tasting session, they intentionally left out the fact that their wedding was taking place in Pennsylvania thirteen hours away just in case that information would make the host less inclined to help them. There was no shot of them leaving with a cake ordered by the end of the evening, but it was still an opportunity to figure out what flavors they liked and have some much-needed fun.

"What's your favorite?" Alison asked Emily as they walked down another row of samples.

Emily tried another piece of cake, a standard almond flavor. "I like the taste of the buttercream icing more than fondant," she decided.

"Me too," Alison said, "but I'm not opposed to using a little fondant on the side for decoration. I can't decide on the cake type."

"They're all so good," Emily agreed. "I'm leaning toward the vanilla flavors, maybe with a raspberry filling?"

"Ladies, have you made a decision?" the host asked as she walked over.

"We're going to need some more time to think about it," Alison told her, "Our wedding is still a while away, but we'll definitely let you know if we need anything else."

Emily thanked the woman and left the shop with Alison, hand in hand. "That was fun. I say we do it again in Rosewood," she said with a smile. "So where should we go now?"

Alison considered the question before saying, "You can choose."

Even after exploring the area, Emily wasn't familiar with everything the city had to offer, so she started thinking of places she knew had to be hidden somewhere within its winding streets. "Well, we can go to the theatre, a bar, maybe to the mall." She made a face at her last suggestion because shopping wasn't her idea of a perfect night, but Alison might enjoy it. "Too bad there's not a kissing rock here. There's no beating our first official date."

Ali thought about that. "Maybe there is another kissing rock out there and we just need to find it."

Emily laughed and then, seeing Alison's serious expression, said, "Wait, seriously? Are you suggesting we go hike and look for a big rock?"

Instead of answering the question, Alison held out her hand. "Give me the keys. I'm gonna drive."

"Tell me what we're doing first."

"You're just going to have to trust me," Ali told her.

"Fine. I trust you, but I'm still a little scared," Emily joked as she relented and handed over the keys.

Hopping into the passenger side, Emily shut the door behind her as Alison started the car. In the midst of wondering what Alison's plans were and how late they might be out tonight, her thoughts jumped to her two friends turned babysitters for the evening. "You think Spencer's going to be okay?" Emily asked.

"Believe me, I hate the idea of the Drakes being in the same country where we're taking our honeymoon," Alison said, "but if they're locked up somewhere overseas, it'll at least prevent Spencer from visiting them. Anyway, she promised us she'd be fine, for tonight at least."

Emily nodded and watched out the window as the car turned down a street they'd passed on the way to the bakery. It was a scenic area filled with a variety of little shops. Alison abruptly parallel parked the car in front of one of the stores, startling the brunette.

"Okay, help me out here. I'm lost," Emily told her.

"I thought our first official date was unforgettable," Ali said with a faux pout as she turned the engine off. "I put a lot of effort into that, you know, dragging boxes of stuff out into the woods while I was pregnant."

 _Oh_. Emily looked back at the store, finally noticing the home décor sign, and suddenly it made sense.

"You weren't kidding about recreating it," Emily said in realization.

She tried to hide the smile that was creeping up on her face, suddenly feeling excited because she remembered every tiny detail of their kissing rock date, from the scent of the candles to the way the ground felt under them through two layers of blankets and how she'd seen a new side of Alison that night. She recalled the faint red blush splashed across Ali's cheeks and how she was suddenly giggly, nervous, yet still all too eager to prove her love and show her girlfriend just how much she meant to her.

Emily thought even further back; way, way back to before Alison went missing and the kissing rock was just a dusty old rock that supposedly attracted ghosts.

"What about our first _unofficial_ date at the kissing rock? Do you remember that?" Emily asked out of curiosity.

Ali opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. There was something satisfying about catching Alison DiLaurentis off guard. "How could I forget?" she finally said.

"You put a lot of effort into that, too," Emily teased her. The day was so different in hindsight; now she could see how intentional it all was, even if Ali never would've admitted it at the time.

Ali laughed a little, but the blush creeping across her face didn't go unnoticed by Emily. "God, who was I kidding?" she asked as they walked into the store.

* * *

 _Fifteen-year-old Alison stretched across Emily's bed one Sunday afternoon, making every effort to draw attention to how bored she was. Emily, on the other hand, was perfectly content to spend time with her without the other girls. Ali had appeared on her doorstep nearly 24 hours ago, seeking refuge from whatever fighting was currently going on in the DiLaurentis household._

 _If she was affected by it, she didn't let it show. Emily wanted to distract her anyway, just in case._

" _We can go out by the lake," Emily suggested. "Lounge around, maybe swim. That would be fun."_

 _Alison stared at the ceiling, lips pursed in thought. Suddenly, she rolled over until she was facing Emily. "I have a better idea. Let's have a scavenger hunt."_

 _"A scavenger hunt?"_ _Emily asked skeptically. It didn't sound like a queen bee's idea of fun. Unless the items on the list were juicier, riskier than what you'd search for at a child's birthday party. Emily bit her lip. "What are we searching for?"_

 _"Anything interesting," Ali answered. She grabbed Emily's schoolbag and carelessly dumped her textbooks out onto the bed so it was empty. "Here, you're gonna need this."_

 _"I thought you were going to say we're hunting for secrets," Emily admitted as she pulled the bag over her shoulders._

 _"Now that would be a good time," Ali said, "but we'll have to settle for something more your speed." The words hit Emily like a jab, and she felt insulted even as Ali gently took her hand and guided her out the door._

...

 _The scavenger hunt was all too normal by Alison's standards, which was what made it seem so atypical to Emily. Ali made up the list as they went along, stopping by the mall and some convenience stores to collect apples, a beach towel, a can of spray paint, lip gloss, and a long scarf, even though it was nearing summer._

 _They reached the lakefront in the late evening when the first golden rays of sunset were just beginning to light up the horizon, and Ali declared they were almost to their last stop._

 _"What are we searching for here?" Emily asked as she balanced herself on a log washed up on the shore. The day was going great and she was more than happy to spend the rest of it looking for any item the other girl had in mind, though there was still a prickly feeling of nervousness over her skin when she remembered how Ali acted at the lakefront the weekend before. Their friends were there, just barely out of earshot, when she asked Emily who she wanted to take to the kissing rock, already knowing the answer. That was part of being close to Ali; it was always a mix of excitement and gratitude and anxiety._

 _"I haven't decided. Do you have any ideas?" Ali asked. Emily looked back at her and watched as she stood at the edge of the water line so her feet were just barely dipping in. She looked so different than she did at school, with less makeup and a more relaxed stance. Softer, younger, more innocent. Looks can be deceiving, Emily reminded herself._

 _Ali looked at her expectantly, waiting for an answer, snapping Emily out of her daze. "Oh, um…maybe a nice shell?"_

 _Alison pulled a face like that was the wrong answer._

* * *

The front of the home goods store was filled with elaborate displays of lamps, vases, and spring décor. Alison grabbed a cart as Emily walked over to the candle aisle.

"You're insane, you know that?" Emily told her fiancée while the blonde picked several candles at random from the special sale shelf.

"And you're the one going along with it," Alison replied.

Down the next aisle, they picked out two large, feather-soft blankets. Two rows down, they added a cute picnic basket to the cart, and Emily mentally noted they'd have to pick up snacks elsewhere.

Two stops later and Emily and Alison were back in the car, driving down the highway that separated the city from the secluded backroads leading to their house.

Emily watched as the sky inched closer to dusk and suddenly the idea of running off to a secluded area seemed less enticing. "As much as I love this tradition, maybe we should've planned the picnic for earlier," she said, hoping her words wouldn't offend Ali. "We hardly know our way around this area in broad daylight, and it's getting dark soon."

"I'm way ahead of you," Alison said as she turned on the blinker and turned onto another street. "Getting lost in the wilderness with a possible murderer on the loose isn't my idea of a perfect night, either."

"We're going to a hotel?" Emily asked. She craned her neck to see the tall buildings in the distance, lights from individual rooms glowing against the darkening cloudy sky. "What were the blankets and decorations for if we already have a perfectly good comforter?"

"To set the scene," Ali said, and Emily rolled her eyes in amusement. "I had to make it at least somewhat authentic to our first date."

"Like I said before, you're insane." Emily paused, then added, more to herself than the woman beside her, "I'm going to catch you off guard with a surprise one of these days."

"We'll see about that," Alison said with a hum. She started turning into a parking lot as Emily noticed another hotel directly across the street with tall glass windows overlooking the dense forest.

"If you want it to be authentic, that's our place," Emily said.

* * *

 _After a lot of contemplation, Emily decided she and Ali should hunt for lost items forgotten by the beach area. After finding only a couple of pennies, they gave up, spread a beach towel over the sand and snacked on apples they'd picked up earlier. Ali rested her head on Emily's lap and looked at the sky, deep in thought. The area was empty. Emily was grateful they were alone._

 _"What are you thinking?" she asked Alison. Feeling particularly brave, she reached out and ran her fingers through the other girl's hair. She braced for the backlash, half expecting a biting comment, but instead, Ali relaxed into the touch and closed her eyes._

 _When she opened her eyes again, she looked at Emily like she was trying to solve a particularly difficult problem. "I thought there was somewhere else you would've wanted to go," she said._

 _Before Emily could respond, she asked, "Do you trust me?"_

 _The question felt loaded. Emily knew most people would -and should- answer no, but for her, it was always the opposite. "Yes."_

 _"Well," Alison said, sitting up, "I guess we're doing this." She reached into the backpack Emily had set off to the side and pulled out the long scarf. She tied it around Emily's head like a blindfold before the swimmer could register what was happening._

 _Emily felt goosebumps on her skin even though the air was quite warm. "What are you doing?" Her heart thumped as she reached for the blindfold to pull it off._

 _"Stop," Ali told her, pulling her hand back down. Then, more gently, "Relax, Em. It'll be worth it. Come on, let me help you."_

 _Though she was still shaken, Emily took Ali's hand and allowed herself to guided forward. Once she felt the sand under her feet give way to dirt and twigs, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that she knew exactly where they were headed._

 _Alison finally guided her to sit down, and Emily knew where she was before she even touched the cold, hard surface of the kissing rock, despite the fact she'd never visited it before. "You can take your blindfold off now," Ali said._

 _Adrenaline was rushing through Emily's veins, and she didn't know if it was excitement or a fight or flight response urging her to run. Mostly, she felt like she might throw up the knots in her stomach at any given moment. Yet she somehow managed to remove the blindfold. She already knew Ali would be sitting across from her, but it was still jarring to see her knowing this was real life and not one of the dreams she had more often than she cared to admit._

 _"Okay, why do you look terrified?" Ali asked as if she couldn't guess the reason._

 _"Is this supposed to be a joke?" Emily asked, surprising even herself when the words came out defensive instead of timid._

 _"It's not a joke," Ali said. Her voice was calm and level. Serious._

 _Emily didn't know what to believe. Her head was spinning and the fight or flight response was still pushing against her insides, urging her to flee. She slowly started backing away from the other girl as Ali sighed._

 _"Don't you get it, Emily? I'm doing this for you. This is what you wanted." The coolness of her tone was gone, replaced by agitation._

 _"But it's not what you want," Emily told her. Alison didn't have a response for that. A fleeting look of uncertainty brushed over her, like she was only just realizing the depth of Emily's apprehension._

 _She stood up and brushed the dust off her legs, now looking anywhere but at Emily. For a second, Emily expected Ali to deliver some harsh parting words and leave her there alone, but she ended up sitting on the ground, knees against her chest and back against the rock so she was facing away from her friend._

 _Emily sat in stunned silence, hardly breathing as she waited to see if Alison would move. The thought of Alison being upset with her was awful enough, but after she heard the quietest muffled sniffle, so soft she might have imagined it, she was overwhelmed with the urge to fix the situation. "Ali, look, I'm sorry. Is everything okay?" she asked, sliding over to sit on the ground next to her._

 _"I'm fine," she said, shifting her expression back to its composed default, "as long as you never mention this again. Seriously. If people find out, they're going to make assumptions that obviously aren't true."_

 _"I was never going to tell anyone. It's my secret more than yours. I just…I don't know what you expect from me." The brunette looked down, fighting back emotions that threatened to bubble to the surface. She'd never come this close to admitting her feelings out loud. It was hard to acknowledge it when she still felt ashamed every time she accidentally stared at a girl for too long or caught herself thinking of Ali as more than a friend._

 _Ali considered that. "I didn't mean to upset you," she said finally. Emily supposed that was the closest thing to an apology she'd ever heard from Alison. Quietly, she added, "Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking."_

 _Emily squeezed her hand supportively, knowing Alison struggled with being open. At most, Emily only saw pieces and glimpses of her true thoughts. Maybe she was the only person allowed to see them._

 _When Ali turned to look at Emily, she looked exhausted and maybe even a little regretful that she didn't have the words to explain herself better. But her blue eyes looked more open and honest than Emily had ever seen them. And something felt different about this look. It was long; heavy. The kind of look that's supposed to lead to something._

 _She caught Ali's eyes drifting to her lips._

 _Butterflies fluttered in the pit of her stomach and without thinking, she leaned over and kissed Alison for the first time._

 _Ali tasted like the lip gloss they'd picked up earlier as part of the scavenger hunt. A sweet, subtle strawberry. Emily wasn't the most experienced at kissing, but for the first time, she understood what the hype was about. It was the first kiss to stir something inside of her and make her crave more._

 _Then her mind started racing as she realized- oh God, she was kissing THE Alison DiLaurentis, and regardless of the fact that she'd invited her here and acted like she was totally fine with kissing Emily, how could she know if it was actually really okay? This was Alison after all, the queen bee of Rosewood who had a different boy trailing behind her every week._

 _Emily pulled back, searching her friend's eyes._

 _"It'sokay," Alison whispered, so quickly the words blurred together and Emily could hardly understand them. Without hesitation, she pulled Emily close to her again and reconnected their lips._

 _This time, Emily let herself give in to what she wanted. Really, what was the point in fighting it? Her senses were alive, finally free, and she vowed to commit every sensation to memory, from the softness of Ali's lips to the way her hair felt between her fingers and the way she could feel her own heart beat everywhere in her body, all the way to her toes._

 _When they pulled apart again, Emily couldn't keep a smile off her face. Ali laughed a little, nudged her in the side._

 _"You're amazing, you know that?" she told the blonde._

 _She just barely heard Ali's breath hitch before she responded with a flippant "Yeah, I know."_

" _That was brave of you," the blonde added after a moment of consideration. "I always knew you had it in you."_

 _"Thanks," Emily said, suddenly feeling shy again because she didn't know how to respond. Ali's breathing was still heavy; Emily could hear it. Alison might lie, but her body's response to the kiss didn't. Right?_

 _No, she knew better than to read too much into it. And yet, it gave her a glimmer of hope that maybe it would be okay to kiss her again after this._

 _(That same hope would spring up again a few weeks later in the school library.)_

 _Dusk was falling over the area. The two girls hadn't noticed their surroundings change from the golden hue of sunset to an evening violet, made darker by the shadows of the trees._

" _We should get back to my house. Are you sleeping over again tonight?" Emily asked her._

" _I haven't decided yet," Ali answered noncommittally. She reached for the backpack and stuffed the blindfold-scarf back into it._

 _Just about every item they picked up during the scavenger hunt was used in some form, Emily realized. She reached into the bag, shuffling around the contents, and pulled out the red spray paint. "What was this for?" she asked the blonde._

" _Who said it was for anything? The list I made was completely random."_

 _Emily glanced at the kissing rock behind them, taking note of the graffiti scribbled all over it and thinking how it all seemed a little too intentional. The blindfold, the lip gloss…_

" _We should at least get some use out of it," Emily decided. She shook the can of spray paint and used it to write their initials on the side they were sitting against when they kissed. It stuck to the rock like a tattoo. Emily thought about all the people who would come here and read it, not knowing which names EF and AD stood for._

 _Ali took the can and painted a lopsided heart around it to get a reaction from her friend. "Now ours stands out the most. What do you think?" she asked with a satisfied smirk. Emily swore her heart stopped beating in her chest._

* * *

"Come back to bed," Ali said softly as Emily finished repositioning some tea light candles on the nightstand.

Ali was lying across the bed half undressed, partially wrapped in one of the blankets from the store. A wide glass window covered almost the entire south wall of the fourth-floor hotel room, and through it, they could see the tops of tall, skinny pine trees stretching back into the dark of night.

The window was spotted with raindrops racing down in streaks, and the soothing sound of rain pattered against the glass. The only light in the room was a subtle orange glow emitted from a handful of candles. It was different than being out in the woods, but the relative darkness of the space made it feel cozy and dreamlike.

Emily paused for a moment to admire the atmosphere before turning back to the bed to enjoy an equally satisfying view.

She settled down onto the queen-sized mattress and noticed Alison was examining something on her phone.

Wait. That wasn't Ali's phone.

"What's this about?" Ali asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion as she held up the screen so Emily could see the notification from some stranger offering to buy one of her older pairs of heels.

"Oh yeah, I was selling a few things I don't wear anymore," Emily answered sheepishly as she laid her head on the edge of Ali's pillow.

"You wore these for Hanna's baby shower and the girls' birthday. That wasn't long ago," Ali said. She looked down at the phone again. "We've been sticking to our budget, so if this is about money…"

"It's not," Emily assured her. A half-truth. "When we moved here, I brought way more than I need. It wouldn't hurt to lighten the load a little before the trip back." A lie. The brunette bit her lip and internally prayed Ali would drop the subject.

"If you say so," Ali said, sounding unconvinced, but not upset, and Emily feared she was already mentally working out what the extra cash would be put toward.

"Guess what?" Emily asked to change the subject as she snuggled in closer to Alison and traced a finger along the curve of her hip.

She felt the other girl's breathing pick up pace ever so slightly from her touch. "What?" Ali asked.

"I've been thinking more about our first trip to the kissing rock, when we left our initials on it," Emily told her. "Admit it, you came up with that scavenger hunt list just to take me there."

"It was obvious, I know," Ali said, letting her hands wander over Emily's back. "I needed to rationalize what I was doing. Cause you know, wanting to kiss your friend and planning elaborate schemes to urge them to make the first move is totally platonic."

"You thought about kissing me way back then?" Emily asked, heart skipping a beat.

"Em, come on. You literally just called me out on it," Alison said, rolling on top on her and pulling the blanket over them.

"I know. I just still can't believe it sometimes. In my mind, it was one-sided back then. I had hope every now and then, but I never thought…" Emily trailed off.

"I'm sorry," Ali told her, kissing her softly on the cheek.

"Don't be. That was a long time ago. Another lifetime."

Ali rested her forehead against Emily's. "Like I promised you, I'm never going to take you for granted again."

They shared a long, hard kiss, shifting in position until Alison was straddling her. Back pressed against the headboard of the bed, one hand on Alison's thigh and the other tangled in blonde hair, it occurred to Emily that they were, for once, completely alone.

Their daughters were safe at home with two capable babysitters. There was no threat of interruption; no need to rush.

She slowed her movements, taking time to fully breathe in the moment and appreciate the finer details: Ali's body felt so warm against her own. She could touch her in one place and heat would instantly spread all through Emily's body, making her forget how chilly the room felt only minutes before.

Alison always arched her neck when Emily kissed along her jaw and sucked on her pulse point, just as Emily's eyes always fluttered shut at the feeling of hands traveling over her breasts.

Slow and steady. Every movement deliberate.

They shifted positions again, Alison underneath her this time, hips buckling up against hers and breathing heavy and ragged. If she were to speak, her voice would come out lower, huskier than usual. Emily knew from experience.

A familiar ache burned deep within her. As she worked with her fingers, she kissed the thin pink C-section scar stretching above Ali's bikini line before moving to the smaller, faded scar on her thigh. Alison hated her scars. She was always quick to cover up when changing clothes, but Emily thought every part of her was so beautiful.

Ali twitched underneath her and Emily thought back to that first trip to the kissing rock.

She imagined telling the fifteen-year-old version of herself that one day, she'd end up in a hotel room in Georgia with the girl who couldn't even admit she wanted to kiss her without making excuses finally under her, inside of her, promising her forever.

Alison was more mature now and didn't use secrets as weapons anymore, but all in all, she was still the same girl who went to great lengths to kiss her ten years ago and still wanted to kiss her now.

With one look around the forest-themed decorated room, Emily realized some things never change.

After the pressure built until she couldn't take it anymore and she rode out her high, Emily laid still for a while, feeling her heart echo through her body. She was too sleepy to move a muscle but so incredibly content.

Alison's position mirrored hers and their legs were still tangled together beneath the blanket. Emily rested her head against her fiancee's chest, suddenly overwhelmed with love.

"You're worth so much. I hope you know that," Emily told her. Ali's heartbeat stuttered a moment and then started racing faster.

"So are you," she said in return with a small, sincere smile.

Emily pulled back slightly so she could lie next to Ali and be level with her eyes. "I don't want you to ever feel like you didn't deserve to survive Rosewood," she said, thinking back to what Ali said at the restaurant regarding Addison's murder and the Royce case. "You earned your second chance, and I'm so, so happy you're here with me. Please don't forget that."

Alison held onto her with all her might, burying her head into Emily's neck, and the latter didn't fight the tight embrace because she knew Ali still carried around a lot of baggage from the past, and reassuring words hit her in a vulnerable place.

She sat up shortly after, appearing content, much to Emily's relief. "I can't wait to marry you," she said in a soft voice, tucking a piece of Emily's raven hair behind her ear.

"October needs to come faster," Emily agreed. Looking at the clock, she said, "We didn't tell Spence and Toby how late we planned on staying out."

"They'll understand," Ali said, lying back down and pulling Emily with her.


	7. Chapter 7

**I uploaded two chapters at once so you can read chapter 6 if you haven't already :) Hope y'all enjoy and review. Thanks for your patience.**

* * *

The first week of March, a bouquet of sunflowers was delivered to their doorstep in a large box. On the inside, there was a note reading, "Happy Spring! Hope to visit soon- Pam."

Smiling to herself, Ali carried the flowers to the table where Emily was working on schoolwork and set them up in a pretty glass vase right next to a small printed picture of Hanna's newborn son.

"Your mom sent flowers. I think she misses us," Ali said as she arranged the stems to ensure each had access to water.

Emily looked up from where she was sitting and admired the sunflowers. "I know she does, but I think she misses Lily and Grace even more. I told her she's always welcome to take a trip down here."

"Yes, please," Ali said. "We haven't had visitors since Spencer and Toby, and that was nearly a month ago."

The past couple of weeks had been mostly smooth sailing. Without any new breakthroughs in the Royce case, it was being discussed less and less, making it easier for Alison to ignore it completely. News was quiet on the Mary and Alex Drake front as well. Spencer tracked down the new prison they were housed in, and it appeared they were stuck there for good. Or at least for a very, very long time.

The only real trouble they'd faced lately was the twins' newfound tendency to hide important objects like wallets and phones.

Ali went to grab her car keys from her purse as Emily packed up her notebooks. "Shit," she muttered when she found the bag to be nearly empty. "This was on the table. How the hell could they even reach it? They're like two feet tall."

Emily furrowed her eyebrows as she helped Ali sift through her purse, coming up empty-handed as well. "One of them must've grabbed it when I fed them breakfast. Probably Grace."

"It's her 90% of the time. She's going to be the death of me," Ali said with a groan. Getting more agitated by the second, she hurried to go check some of Grace's favorite hiding spots, getting down on her knees to look under her crib, in the laundry hamper and through her ever-increasing pile of toys. No luck.

"Perfect! They already hid the spare key. What am I supposed to do now?"

"Ali, relax," Emily told her. "I'll drop you off, and we can find the keys later. No big deal. But we have to leave now."

"Okay," Ali relented, grabbing her nearly empty purse. Grace shot her a mischievous smile as she hugged a stuffed bear to her chest and wiggled around in place.

"I think you know exactly what you did," Ali said as she picked up her squirming toddler. "Are you sure this one's your daughter?" she joked, looking over at Emily.

Emily laughed lightly. "I might question whether she's related to Lily if they weren't nearly identical."

"I'll have to ask your mom whether you were a Grace or a Lily as a child," Ali mused.

* * *

Covington High School's parking lot was nearly deserted, with only a handful of faculty spots taken. Ali habitually ran down to the wire when it came to getting to work. She'd never been here early enough to see the school empty.

"Do you have a minute to stay?" Alison asked Emily, who nodded tiredly.

"Yeah, I think I'll stop by the teacher's lounge and get a coffee for the road," she said, stifling a yawn.

The front doors of the school echoed loudly as they shut behind the two women, and Ali was grateful for the noise. Something about the silence was eerie. She didn't hear another sound until they were halfway to the teacher's lounge. At that point, faint voices were just barely audible from around the corner of one of the hallways.

"I guess we're not the only early risers here," Emily noted.

Ali paused and turned toward the sound. "That's weird. It sounds like it's coming from my classroom. The other teachers down my hall usually get here when I do, a few minutes before the first bell."

She tried her hardest to listen in and make out any discernable words, but she was too far away, and the voices sounded like soft mumbles from the distance.

Emily nodded in her direction and started down the hallway toward the sound. All the classroom doors down each side of the hall were shut, but only one had its lights on. Alison immediately recognized it as Kyle's classroom, right across the hall from her room.

Without saying a word, Ali started toward her own door and looked over her shoulder casually as she unlocked it, trying her best to avoid being caught peeking into another teacher's window.

She could see the back of a girl's head. A brunette with long hair. And it wasn't that a student-teacher meeting was totally unexpected or out of the norm, even if it was early. The tone of the conversation was more concerning. Ali could hear their conversation a little better at this proximity, and it didn't sound amicable. Even though she couldn't see Kyle from this view, she knew he was in there. She easily recognized his voice.

The girl turned slightly, giving Ali a better view.

Ali hardly reacted when she realized who it was. For some reason she couldn't discern, the revelation wasn't shocking or even unexpected.

"It's Maci. She's in my class, and she was our waitress that one time," she told Emily as the tall brunette strained to see into the window without stepping directly in front of it.

It was still difficult to piece together the conversation when the only words she could make out were short, muffled phrases that sounded suspiciously like " _I can't believe you would do that"_ and " _be more careful_."

"You think it's school-related?" Emily asked. "Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good."

The eerie feeling Ali had sensed earlier suddenly returned, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "It's not about class. It sounds too…intimate."

"Intimate?" Emily repeated, craning her neck once again to see in. "It sounds angry to me."

"Sometimes it's the same thing," Ali whispered. "You don't sneak around having early morning arguments with your teacher unless someone is overstepping boundaries."

"Okay, but we can't jump to any assumptions without knowing the whole story," Emily reminded her. "Those allegations can ruin someone's life. Addison tried to accuse me of being inappropriate with evidence taken way out of context."

"It's Kyle's classroom," Ali told her, knowing Emily wasn't his biggest fan. Honestly, Ali didn't mind the guy. Over the past weeks they'd become, well, not best friends, but acquaintances, at least. He was the only adult she regularly talked to, and even though he made a couple of inadvertently offensive comments when they first met, he was quick to offer a sincere apology. He seemed like an overall decent human being willing to learn from his mistakes, and that's all Ali expected of anyone.

But if he was pursuing a relationship with a student, that would change everything. It could also explain some of Maci's odd behavior Ali noticed over the past several weeks.

"Oh," Emily said, narrowing her eyes.

"Does that change your opinion?" Ali asked, making sure once again to keep her voice low.

"No," Emily said with a degree of uncertainty. "Yes. I don't know. He comes across as desperate at the faculty meetings. I know you work with him and all and I don't want to throw someone innocent under the bus, but I've had a bad feeling about him since I met him."

Just then, Maci turned around and unlocked the door, a scowl on her face, and Emily jumped back, almost bumping into Alison.

Ali contemplated pulling Emily inside her classroom and avoiding the confrontation before deciding better of it. Whatever was going on across the hallway didn't sit well with her.

Instead, she folded her arms and stayed in place. "Maci, you're here early."

The teenager froze like a deer in headlights before regaining her composure. "So are you, Ms. DiLaurentis," she said, shutting the door behind her. Her eyes shifted to Emily and she nodded in her direction. "Coach Fields. Sorry I couldn't make practice yesterday. I'll be there this evening."

"What was that about?" Emily asked before Alison could. She motioned to the classroom door behind her. "It was getting pretty loud in there."

"I was turning in some late work I missed from when I caught the flu. Still recovering, actually," she said, raising a hand to her throat. "I was just on my way to get some medicine before first period."

"That doesn't explain the argument," Ali told her just as she started walking away.

Maci stopped briefly, pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, and turned to face her teacher. "There was no argument. Thanks for your concern, but you're freaking out over nothing."

With that said, she started walking down the hall again, away from them. "Maci, see me after class!" Alison called to her, loud enough to be sure Kyle heard her. Then she grabbed Emily's hand and led her into her empty classroom.

They sat beside each other on Ali's desk, trying to make sense of the situation.

"We need to talk to Kyle and ask him what the hell that was about," Emily said decisively.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll find his way in here during my lunch break. He's not deaf. He knows we were talking to her, and that we're onto him," Ali said. She paused to swallow the lump sitting in her throat. "And what if he is guilty? We have to report him, right?"

"It feels like the right thing to do," Emily said. She bit her lip, trying to decide whether to voice her true thoughts. "I keep thinking of Aria and Ezra," she admitted. "The situation seemed so different back then. Maci and the other kids here look and act so much younger than I thought we did at that age."

"And I thought I was old enough to make adult choices at fifteen," Ali shook her head. "If I had even an ounce of real maturity back then, I never would've done half of what I did that summer. I was way too young, mentally and physically, to get involved with people like Ian."

Alison clenched her fists when she said that name. She hated bringing up her dating history around Emily. She hated that she wasted time pursuing older men when she should've been looking right in front of her.

Emily sighed and looked over to meet Ali's eyes. "I'm just glad he didn't hurt you."

Alison leaned into her shoulder as the brunette said, "I'll meet you before swim practice and we can confront him together. Or I can talk to Maci alone."

"I'll let you know what happens," Alison answered, knowing Emily had to go and wouldn't be back until the afternoon. There was a high probability of her seeing Kyle before then.

"We're going to figure this out," Emily said. She leaned over and quickly pressed her lips to Ali's before she had to leave.

Throughout the morning, Alison contemplated the implications of what they overheard. It distracted her during first and second period classes and even into her off period. Maci wouldn't come in until her fourth period class, just after lunch. The day was dragging by.

She considered what Emily said about Aria and Ezra. Their relationship always seemed harmless enough. They were happily married and in love. Even when Ali briefly dated Ezra the summer she turned 15, back when he was the Boardshorts Ale and pie guy and she was caught up in the power rush that came along with pretending to be older, she always felt like she was the one in control. He wasn't dangerous like others she'd sneak around with.

Back then, the age difference didn't seem so significant. She did the mental math. Ezra was going into his second and final year of grad school. That put him at…23 at the time?

That was almost ten years ago. Alison and Emily and their friends were turning 25 now. She tried to imagine herself being interested in a 16-year-old and came up empty.

Her students were _children_. When she was ruling the halls of Rosewood High, they were finger painting in kindergarten. And Kyle had to be in his early 30s, at least.

She glanced at the picture on her desk, the one of Emily and their baby girls. If any grown adult had the audacity to take advantage of her daughters someday…

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by a quick tapping at her classroom door, followed by Kyle sticking his head in. Right on schedule.

"Just thought I'd stop by and say hello before lunch," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "How's your day been?"

"Long," Alison answered. She counted the seconds that passed until he asked the question she knew was coming.

It didn't take long. "So you must've been here pretty early, too," he said.

"Yeah, Emily dropped me off. My daughter hid my car keys."

"One of the twins?" Kyle asked. "How old did you say they were?"

"Fourteen months."

"Ah," he said, scratching the back of his head nervously again. "You can't be too upset with them at that age."

"Right. They're children, after all," Ali agreed, looking at him pointedly. "I have to be the adult and do what's best for them always, even if that means putting my own feelings aside."

He opened his mouth, trying to formulate a response. Finally, he said, "Listen, Alison, I can't help but feel like there's some sort of misunderstanding here. Give me a chance to explain."

And there it was. Ali couldn't help but equate the need to explain with admission of guilt. An innocent person wouldn't have anticipated this conversation if there was nothing to hide.

"Okay," she said, careful not to make any accusations. "Emily and I heard what sounded like arguing in your classroom this morning before Maci walked out. What happened in there?"

"Maci's been going through a tough time, and I was trying to hear her out," he said, sitting on one of the desks, hands held still as a rock in his lap. "I was willing to cut her some slack and let her catch up on work she missed thinking it was a one-time incident, but she expects me to give her a free pass again and again, and I can't do that."

"Her attendance is spotty, but she's never missed an assignment in my class," Alison said while she weighed the story in her mind, trying to determine its validity. "What's going on in her life? Maybe she needs a counselor who isn't an authority figure when it comes to grades."

"I've told her to talk to the counselor here at school. She said they didn't click. That wasn't going to fix anything."

"It's admirable you're trying to help, but you can't get too involved in a student's life. Not on a private level like that," Alison said. She hoped he understood the gravity of the situation. "Even if it's just a friendship, there's boundaries that shouldn't be crossed…"

"Just a friendship?" he asked, bristling as he stood up. "Do you have any idea what you're implying?"

"I…" Alison started, unable to find the right words and wishing Emily was here to back her up. Kyle was fuming. She could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears.

Oh God, he was pissed. But she wasn't imagining all this out of thin air, right? Ever since Maci saw her working with Kyle on the prom committee, she'd seemed off. Defensive. Maybe even jealous.

"Go ahead and say it. Say what you're thinking," Kyle egged her on.

With a gulp, Ali said, "I dated a lot of older people when I was young. The power imbalance in those relationships wasn't healthy. I'm not saying you did anything, but I automatically suspect the worst, and I can't sit back and watch if something doesn't sit right with me. As a teacher and as a mother, I can't."

"Unbelievable," Kyle muttered, making his way to the door. Turning back to face her, he said, "And here I was feeling awful about those other teachers judging you without even knowing you. Spreading rumors that you and your girlfriend have been arrested. Saying you have a bunch of deranged relatives in mental institutions back in Pennsylvania."

Ali felt heat rise to her skin. "I don't, and that has nothing to do with this."

"Yes, it does," Kyle argued, "because I didn't believe any of that, and I didn't make a big deal about it because it would've upset you."

Alison let out an exasperated sigh. "I couldn't just not say anything. I gave you a chance to explain and you got defensive. If nothing happened, just tell me what Maci's struggling with so we can all move on and focus on helping her."

Kyle shook his head in response. "I don't owe you an explanation." As he turned to leave, he looked back and said, "And just so you know, I lost my wife three years ago in a car accident. I've hardly dated since, so it's shitty for you to imply I would replace her with a student."

With that, he was gone, and the door slammed behind him. The unsettling feeling that had been in the pit of Alison's stomach all morning was still there, but now it felt more like guilt.

* * *

Alison's phone kept her occupied as she sat in the middle of the natatorium bleachers and waited for swim practice to end. Every so often, she's catch Emily looking her way and give her a supportive smile. She used to love going to Emily's swim meets and proudly watching her glide through water and take home the first-place gold medal. Ali never had any doubt that her friend was the strongest swimmer on the team.

That was before her shoulder injury. Watching Emily coach wasn't quite as thrilling as watching her swim, especially since the brunette seemed a little bored with it herself.

Ali wondered if coaching reminded her of missed opportunities.

She looked up again when she heard the sound of Emily's loud, piercing whistle. The swim team girls climbed out the pool and made a beeline for the locker room. Even with their caps and goggles making it hard to distinguish who was who, Alison could tell Maci wasn't among them.

"Finally done," Emily said, stretching as she walked over to where Alison was sitting. "Maci didn't show up. I got a note saying she's sick again. Stomach flu my ass."

"All that tells me is she has something to hide," Ali said. She rested her hand under her chin, deep in thought. "All the signs point to us being right, but I felt like such a bitch when I confronted Kyle earlier."

"You had no way of knowing he lost his wife," Emily reminded her. "And going through a tragedy doesn't make him immune to bad decisions, or make it okay for him to throw your past or your family in your face as a defense. If I had been there…"

"You would've done what?" Ali asked, a small, lopsided smile appearing on her face.

"I would've made him sorry he ever brought it up," she answered like it was obvious. "That's what we do; we defend each other. I know you're more than capable of handling him yourself, but it would make me feel better if you let me be there to back you up next time."

"Deal," Ali said, as Emily extended an arm to help her up.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this," Emily promised her as she gathered her belongings and prepared to leave.

"I thought you didn't want to get involved in any Covington drama," Ali mused, thinking back to their disagreement over the Royce case. There hadn't been any new leads in a few weeks, and the whole investigation finally felt far removed from their reality.

Emily appeared to understand her immediately. Furrowing her brows, she said, "Well, this is different, isn't it?

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Alison followed Emily out of the natatorium and into the parking lot, where they climbed into Emily's car and went pick up the babies from daycare.

Once they were home, she set Grace and Lily on their rainbow-colored play mat and crouched down beside them. Dangling a pair of plastic toy keys in front of them, she said, "Here's your keys. Now where did you put Mommy's?" They reached for the toy but gave no indication they understood the question being asked. "I know it's wrong to bribe one-year-olds," she told Emily, "but I'm seriously wondering if offering ice cream will convince them to show me their hiding spots."

"As long as it's not before dinner," Emily said absentmindedly as she focused on something on her phone. "Hey, do you mind if my group meets here tonight? It's our last project together and I won't have to deal with these people any more after midterms, thank God."

"That's fine with me," Ali told her. "I'll order some takeout."

She picked up the phone and did just that, and about forty minutes later, when she and Emily were sitting at the table with their own food and feeding the twins, the first of Emily's group members knocked on the door.

A short brunette walked in, a bored expression on her face. She was pretty, but her clothes were loose fitting and dull in color, like she was trying her hardest not to draw attention to herself. Ali guessed she was Rachel, the one Emily said was related to Laura Royce.

She looked at Alison sitting at the table and Grace and Lily in their high chairs, like she wasn't expecting to see them there. The expression across her face was fleeting; it only took her a moment to look completely disinterested again and basically ignore them as she took a seat on the other side of Emily and pulled out her textbook.

It wasn't long before two others showed up, a guy with a baseball hat and camo jacket and a tall blonde girl who looked more interested in waving to Lily and Grace than focusing on any school work. Realizing the attention was on her, Grace started babbling loudly as Lily reached out and called for Mama.

"Ali, can you take them for a few minutes?" Emily whispered to her in a pleading voice.

"Sure, but I don't know how long I can keep them distracted," Ali said as she lifted the girls out their high chairs, struggling a bit because the bigger they got, the harder it became to carry them both at once.

Ali heard one of the students whisper to Emily, "Is she your wife?" when she was almost out of earshot. She tensed at first, but soon relaxed when she realized the question was just that: a question, without any trace of prejudice.

"She will be soon," Emily answered. Ali glanced back and saw her smile down at her engagement ring.

"That's sweet. Your kids are so cute," the blonde girl said.

Comments like that made Ali feel better about life. Everything from her missing car keys to what happened earlier at school didn't seem so significant anymore.

Ali pulled out more toddler toys and put on a Disney movie at a low volume to keep the twins busy. It worked for a while, until Grace started running toward the kitchen over and over again, Lily following suit until Alison caught them in her arms and pulled them back. It was fine the first two or three times. By the sixth, her energy and tolerance were quickly draining.

"Em, they really want you," Ali told her, carrying them over to her in surrender.

"We only have a few things left," Emily said as she positioned the girls on her lap, kissing the tops of their heads, and reached around them to write on the poster board with sharpie.

It wasn't an easy job with the twins shifting on her lap and using her arms as a ladder to help them climb on the table. Ali could see Emily was getting irritated- the other three looked to be doing more sitting around than contributing- and Ali felt maybe she should be trying harder to distract the girls or get work done around the house. But honestly, she was tired of those jobs falling on her, not that she could tell Emily that right now since she had her hands more than full with school work.

"Here, I'll help you," Ali said when none of the other students volunteered. She took the sharpie and shifted the poster board closer to her. "Tell me what to write."

"Ali, you don't have to do that. It's not your project," Emily said, tugging it back.

"I'll do it," Rachel finally offered. She pulled it toward her and started writing down kinesiology terms in large, bold handwriting. Midway through, she looked up, focusing on something across the room, and dropped the sharpie from her hand.

Ali followed her gaze but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just the front door, a window covered by blinds and curtains, and a coat rack.

"Where did you get that jacket?" she asked.

"What jacket?" Emily questioned in confusion.

"The reddish one."

Ali realized which one she was referring to when her eyes reached the deep burgundy winter coat she'd worn all of one time.

"I don't know. A mall in Rosewood, where we moved from, I guess," Emily shrugged. "Why is that important right now?"

"That one isn't from Rosewood," Ali told her. "It was left in the teacher's lounge months ago, and no one ever claimed it. I was cold one day so the vice principal told me I could keep it."

Emily turned back to Rachel. "You've seen it before?"

"I have to go," Rachel said, packing up her stuff in a rush. Everyone stared at her, baffled. Even the babies stopped what they were doing to look at her questioningly.

"Seriously, you're just gonna leave? You need to be here. We're depending on you to help," Emily told her.

"Believe it or not, this isn't the only class I'm enrolled in. I have other projects to work on," Rachel told her. Her mood seemed to have drastically changed in a minute, and based on what Ali heard from Emily, this wasn't the first time it happened.

"Rachel, wait!" Emily called out only to be ignored. Ali stared at the jacket, trying to put the puzzle pieces together in her mind. Rachel wouldn't wear a jacket like that. It wasn't hers. And Laura Royce wasn't a teacher. It couldn't be hers, either.

It was just a generic coat, really. Nothing worth freaking out over.

"Go bye-bye?" Lily asked, looking up at Emily after she saw Rachel storm out.

"Yeah, she went bye-bye," Emily answered. She looked over at Alison as if to say _I wonder why_.

* * *

"Nothing in the cupboards," Ali said as she turned off the little flashlight she'd used to search under the sink.

Emily poured the laundry hamper out onto the living room floor to see if Ali's keys might be hidden inside. The girls were sound asleep, her classmates were gone, and the quiet that came along with the night made it the perfect time to finish chores and help Ali with her search.

"Maybe Grace is innocent this time and _I'm_ the one who misplaced them," Ali wondered aloud as she walked over to the mantle above the fireplace and ran her hand along the empty space in front of the line of framed pictures, pausing when she reached a portrait of Jessica DiLaurentis.

"I don't know, I think you'd remember doing that," Emily responded. The keys weren't hidden in the laundry or the bottom of the hamper. She walked over to the coat rack and dug her hands into some of the lower pockets.

Ali watched her, eyeing the burgundy winter coat. "I think I'm gonna return that to the school tomorrow. It feels wrong to keep it here after how Rachel reacted to it."

"Well, her reactions rarely make any sense," Emily said. Standing up, she asked, "Where else should I check? You don't think Grace tried to flush it down the toilet in the guest bathroom again, do you?"

Ali's eyes widened. "When did she do that?"

"Well, she tried throwing her blocks in there a few days ago. I stopped her."

"I suddenly miss the days before they were mobile," Ali said wistfully.

"There's no going back now."

Emily decided to check the guest bathroom anyway. Thankfully, the toilet was clear, and she was about to leave the room when she noticed a glint of something shiny in the little garbage can.

"Ali, I found them!" she shouted, pulling out the car keys…and the spare set, a watch they hadn't realized was missing, and some of Lily's hair bows she'd refused to wear earlier in the week.

Ali crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her back, and blinked in surprise not at the keys, but at the hair accessories. "Grace didn't hide them. Lily did."

"Let's be glad Grace isn't old enough to hold us accountable for blaming her," Emily said, watching as Ali pursed her lips. She knew they were both feeling a slight sting of guilt, maybe irrationally, maybe not.

Sometimes that was part of being a parent, worrying that you're not doing the best by your child. Emily didn't want to be the type of parent who treated her daughters unequally. "We're good moms, aren't we? I mean, we're not perfect, but I think we're doing a pretty good job."

"I think we're doing a great job," Ali said. "This is just a small lesson learned. And maybe the other lesson is to keep this door closed so our stuff doesn't get thrown in the garbage again."

Emily smiled in agreement. They walked back to the living room as a clap of thunder boomed from outside. The sounds gave her an idea.

"Let's watch a movie before bed," Emily suggested. "I love laying on the sofa with you when it's raining outside."

"I've always loved that, too. Even before we got together."

The two of them snuggled together on the sofa under the blanket they'd bought for their last date while Emily flipped through channels. They usually went to bed only half dressed, and she loved the feeling of Ali's bare legs entangled with hers.

Just as she let herself relax, _BOOM!_ Another crack of thunder sounded.

But the sound of rain was yet to come. And, oddly, this booming thunder sounded like it was coming from somewhere below.

Emily tensed on the sofa, pulling her arm tighter around Alison, who was already clutching onto her.

Next came a low, long creak.

A thousand memories flashed through Emily's mind, all of them involving A. Emily jumped up in a panic as Ali tried to pull her back down.

"The basement," Ali whispered.

Emily had almost forgotten the house had a basement. It was small and unfinished, with a dirty concrete floor and walls that sometimes leaked when it rained. They hardly went down there at all. There was no way of knowing if something, or someone, was living down there. Emily remembered finding Charlotte's hideout under the DiLaurentis house and gulped.

She grabbed the closest thing to her- a lamp- and tiptoed across the wood floors, ignoring how her heart slammed in her chest. Ali was right behind her, one hand holding the back of her shirt.

They walked closer, edging against the basement door, and creaked it open to reveal darkness on the other side.

At the same time, they became aware of a horrific smell.

Ali stopped at the top of the stairs and covered her nose. She quickly glanced back, making sure no one was behind them, waiting to lock them in. "We should call the cops. I don't even want to know what's down there," she whispered in Emily's ear, so quietly it was nearly indiscernible.

"It could be a dead animal," Emily suggested even though she didn't fully believe the words. She was surprised she could even speak when her throat felt constricted. "You can check the nursery if you don't want to see."

"I'm not leaving you here."

Clutching the lamp, Emily summoned all her bravery and flicked the light on. Ali flinched behind her. But everything looked normal in the light, at least for a moment.

Then Alison let out a piercing scream and threw her arms around Emily so suddenly she almost toppled over down the stairs.

"What? What is it?" Emily asked frantically, trying to steady her. She looked back at the room filled mostly with empty boxes.

Then she noticed the body hanging in the corner.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I was aiming give y'all another double update, but I'm not ready to post the next chapter yet and didn't want to leave this one hanging any longer because of the cliff hanger. That was the first turning point of sorts. There's still a lot of story left to cover, and I'm not far ahead in writing like I was before, but I have a plan for it. Thanks for your patience and the feedback! I also have a little note at the bottom.**

 **As a side note, I based the police investigation process on how it was portrayed in the show, which I realize is most likely not accurate to how it would unfold in real life.**

* * *

For the first time since they moved, Alison and Emily's house was flooded with people.

Uniformed police officers examined the basement as medics dragged a body bag up the stairs and threw the corpse onto a stretcher. Reporters irritated from being called into work late at night poked their heads through the open front door. Nosy neighbors from the next street over paced around the front yard as police sirens blared.

The reporters called out questions. Alison ignored them and sat on the sofa instead, holding Lily against her chest. Her poor baby was already far off her sleep schedule, having been kept awake for hours from the constant noise. She had her head buried into Ali's shoulder, too shy to even look at all the people stomping by.

Alison focused her attention on Emily. With Grace balanced on her hip, the brunette followed the police officers wherever they went, asking a constant stream of questions. Ali could hear what they were saying but the words had no effect on her. She was in a trance, mentally separating herself from all that was happening, unable to process any of it.

She heard the name Laura Royce and snapped out of her dissociated state for just long enough to hear an officer tell Emily they couldn't identify the body with certainty without lab results. They couldn't determine a cause of death before performing an autopsy, and the time frame for that would depend on the extent of decomposition.

"Regardless of whether it's Laura or not, we need to know who moved the body," Emily told the officer. "Someone broke into our house! We can't live like this."

Someone broke in. Another rush of adrenaline flowed through Alison's body. Even after years of having anonymous stalkers drift in an out of her house at their own leisure, Ali could never get used to having her privacy violated. Every time it happened was as disturbing and frightening as the first.

She sunk further into the sofa, ready to block it all out again, but not before stealing a glance at the deep red jacket hanging near the front door. After how Emily's classmate reacted to it, she could only assume it was evidence. But turning it in now without an explanation would, at best, confuse the authorities and, at worst, cast more guilt on her and Emily.

So she stayed silent. Hardly moved except to run circles over Lily's back and ease the toddler to sleep. After what must've been at least four hours, the last of their unwanted visitors left and Emily settled down next to her. She was still holding Grace, who was now asleep against her shoulder. Ali leaned against her side, wishing she could feel as safe as she did in the moments before they heard the thundering noise.

"We're going to be okay, Ali. The police want us to go in for questioning, but they see us as victims, not suspects."

"This is our first time calling in a body instead of hiding one," Ali said humorlessly.

"Because there's no one threatening us to keep quiet this time," Emily sighed.

Ali sat up straighter to meet her eyes, careful not to disrupt Lily in the process. "Are you sure about that? Emily, someone's framing us. Again."

"I know," Emily said, clenching her jaw. "This is exactly what I was afraid of."

Ali swallow hard, almost choking on the lump in her throat. "I swear I didn't do anything to involve us. I don't know why we're being targeted, unless…"

"Unless what?" Emily asked gently, though she was biting her lip and very clearly on edge.

"Your classmate. Rachel. Maybe she acts so shifty because she's been carrying around a body-sized amount of guilt, and she needed to get it off her hands."

"I don't think so," Emily said. She stared across the room, focusing on nothing in particular. "You didn't see how she reacted to the news report. It was quick, but I saw it- she looked devastated. You can't fake that kind of emotion."

"Maybe devastated she was caught," Ali mused, leaning into Emily again. She suddenly felt incredibly tired. "It couldn't hurt to ask her again. Not grill her or anything. Just find out more of her story."

"Okay, I can do that," Emily agreed. "Let's just get through the next few days first." She was quiet for a moment. Hesitantly, she said, "You know, it's possible it isn't even Laura."

Ali pulled a face, unconvinced. "And how likely is that?"

"I'm just saying, anything is possible with a murderer on the loose," she explained. "And you know what else is possible?

"What?"

"The blood evidence was found near the high school. The killer could be someone you work with. Maybe someone you might've upset recently."

"Kyle?" Alison asked tiredly. "He's possibly dating a student, and we don't even have solid evidence to accuse him of that. The man can't be guilty of every crime under the sun."

Emily shrugged. "I don't know what to think anymore." She carefully repositioned Grace with one arm and wrapped the other around Alison.

Lily was still cradled in Ali's arms, her little mouth hanging open in her sleep. Now would be the ideal time to bring the girls back to their cribs, but she felt unsettled leaving them alone after all that had happened tonight.

As if reading her thoughts, Emily looked to her and asked, "Can they sleep with us, just this once?"

"Okay," Ali agreed. "Just this once."

* * *

"I'm your mother, Emily. It's my job to support you through times like this," Pam Fields said as she handed her luggage to her daughter to stuff in the car.

The airport was bustling with life. Airports were always that way; busy and moving forward constantly, ushering nameless faces in and out. Life moves on. Everyone carried on like normal, as if it were any ordinary day and a body wasn't just discovered in a basement.

"I'm just glad you're letting me be there for you this time," Pam added, looking at her pointedly, though there was barely concealed concern in her eyes.

"It's not like last time," Emily said. Her voice came out sounding empty; hollow. If she said those words enough times, maybe they would finally ring true. "This isn't A."

"How sure can you be?" Pam asked.

Emily faltered, the question making her second guess herself. She reminded herself of the facts: Alex Drake was locked up overseas; Charlotte DiLaurentis died two years ago; Mona gave up the game what felt like a lifetime ago; there were no texts, no taunting or threatening messages.

But there was a break in and a body. A already came back twice. Was it naïve of her to assume the third A was the last?

"I can't be sure," Emily finally admitted, looking at the ground.

Her mother pulled her into an embrace. "We'll get through this week together," Pam promised her, and they both knew she wasn't only referring to the police investigation.

Almost exactly five years ago, Emily felt her heart drop in the middle of class in California after receiving the phone call she'd been dreading for as long as she could remember. Even with everything that happened before and since, the months following her father's death were undoubtedly the worst of her life.

Even after all this time, there were some moments, quick and unexpected, when the grief felt so _fresh_. It was a physical pain: a weakness in her muscles; a sharp stab in her chest; the feeling that the wind had been knocked out of her and she might never be able to catch her breath again.

"Did you find the security system we talked about over the phone?" Emily asked as she pulled away, focusing hard on each word so her voice wouldn't give away how shaky she felt on the inside. "The one Dad bought for our house my senior year?"

"I found the box, but like I told you, I have no idea how to install it," Pam said. "It might be easier to buy a new alarm system and have someone come out and set it up."

"Yeah, I'll probably end up doing that. I was just trying to save some money," Emily sighed as she climbed into the driver's seat of the car.

Her mother shut the door to the passenger side and said, "Alison told me the daycare rates were higher than expected. If you need any help financially…"

"We don't need help. I've been saving for something. A gift. And I'm so close to being able to afford it," Emily said.

Noticing her mother's questioning expression, she reached for her phone and pulled up the picture of the diamond ring, a beautifully-cut halo stone with a vintage platinum band.

"You think she'll like it?" Emily asked, biting her lip as she showed Pam. The only person she'd shown the picture to was Hanna, and while she trusted the fashionista's advice, it was still a daunting task to pick out the ring Ali would wear for the rest of her life.

"Of course! It's beautiful, Emily. She's going to love it," Pam assured her. "I was wondering if she'd get her own diamond ring with the wedding set."

"We already picked out the wedding bands. This is something extra I wanted to do for her," Emily said, twisting her own engagement ring around her finger. "She says she doesn't mind not having a ring yet, that she'd be happy with just a band, but I see the way she cranes her neck when we pass jewelry stores in the mall. She wants this, and I'm going to make sure she gets it before we're married."

Pam gave her a small smile. She always looked tense, like she was wound a little too tight to ever fully relax, but Emily had long since learned to tell her real smiles from the fake ones.

This one was real.

"I'm happy with how everything has worked out between you two. I wasn't thrilled when you first told me you were together and that she was pregnant…"

"That's an understatement," Emily cut in, rolling her eyes in amusement.

"But the point is, she proved me wrong. She's already a daughter to me, and I can't wait to go see her and my babies."

* * *

The outside of the house looked so quiet and normal, without any trace of the massive crime scene that was present not even forty-eight hours prior.

"Have you seen Hanna's baby yet?" Emily asked her mother as they walked up to the front door, a large suitcase rolling behind them on bumpy gravel.

"Looks different in pictures," Pam said absentmindedly as she took in the exterior of the house.

"You mean he looks smaller in real life? I know people say that a lot, but I thought he already looked pretty tiny, especially since I've already forgotten what it's like having a newborn…"

"No, I mean the house," Pam said, laughing to herself. "To answer your question, I visited Hanna in the delivery room. Her little boy is precious. Honestly, I don't think she's let him out of her arms since he was born."

"She's had baby fever for a while now," Emily said as she fiddled with the locks.

As she stepped into the house, Emily expected to hear the bubbling noise of the coffee maker, or the low hum of the TV, or maybe Grace and Lily squealing as they played.

Instead, she stepped inside to hear Alison snapping at someone over the phone from the hallway, her voice pointed and sharp, sounding way too much like Highschool Ali.

"I didn't tell you because you never bothered to ask! How hard is that to understand?" she yelled, her tone biting until she heard the front door close. Freezing mid-pace, she looked up and pulled the phone away from her ear. Changing her inflection entirely to what Emily affectionately called her suck-up voice, she nodded toward the two of them and sweetly said, "Mrs. Fields, hi! Give me just a sec."

"I've gotta go," Alison said into the phone. "Yeah, of course she's with me. Why wouldn't she be? She's taking classes…you know what, it doesn't matter. We're fine. The cops are taking care of it... No. No, I just said- It's fine, okay? We can take care of ourselves. Bye."

She grunted as she hung up the phone. "That was my dad," she said in explanation, smoothing down her shirt and taking a deep breath to regain her composure.

"What did he want?" Emily asked, biting her lip in concern. Ali's father rarely contacted her, and whenever he did call, the conversations usually ended with Alison hanging up in frustration.

"Is everything alright?" Pam asked as she walked over and reached for Alison's hand.

Ali usually hated being touched when she was in a mood, but she was exceptionally tolerant when it came to her future mother-in-law. She squeezed her hand back and nodded. "Yeah, I told Jason about the basement situation and the news somehow got back to my dad. He wanted to know what the hell I'm doing in Georgia."

Pam's brows laced in worry. "You never told him you were moving?"

"We don't have that kind of relationship anymore."

"I'm sure it'll work out. Everything will," Pam said, squeezing Ali's hand again between both of hers. Then she looked down the short hallway leading to the bedrooms. "Now where are my grandbabies?"

A hint of a smile appeared on the blonde's face. "They're in the back room. They've been sleeping a while, so they're due to wake up any minute now."

Pam hurried down the hallway, unable to wait any longer to see Grace and Lily, and Alison started following her until Emily reached out and gently touched her shoulder.

"Hey, are you sure everything's alright with your dad?" she asked in a whisper.

Ali nodded briskly. "Yeah, I mean…it is what it is. We don't owe him any explanations because he's the one who shut me out of his life first."

"I guess you're right," Emily said, wiping her brow.

Ali paused to look her deliberately in the eyes, a look of pure concentration on her face. "Are _you_ okay? It seems like something's bothering you."

"Besides the corpse that was in our basement?" Emily asked with a humorless laugh. When Ali didn't respond, she stuffed her hands into her pockets and added, "Yeah I'm okay, but he's still your father, you know? Maybe we should try to fix things with him. We don't even know if he's coming to the wedding."

She expected Ali to scoff at that because, for months, she'd made a show of saying she didn't care whether he showed up to the ceremony, that they were better off without him. But she still cared deep down; Emily could see it in her eyes during those tense father-daughter phone calls that were few and far between.

Instead, Alison suddenly got serious and when she spoke, her words were heavy with conviction. "Em, we're talking about the man who abandoned Charlotte and Jason, who he raised for years, because they weren't his blood. And then he cut ties with me for standing by them."

She turned to look down the hallway, toward the sound of Grace and Lily's excited babbles as they woke up to see their grandmother.

"Our daughters, they're not his blood either. He doesn't see them as his family, and that's something I can't forgive. He only came to see them once, and he didn't even ask to hold them. He hardly acknowledges them, or you, when I talk to him."

Emily nodded slowly. She could feel the tension between Ali and Kenneth DiLaurentis like it was a physical weight. "For what it's worth," she said, meeting Ali's eyes, "my mom is always there if you need any parental advice. My family is yours, too."

Ali looked back down the hall as Pam walked out, expertly carrying one baby in each arm and bouncing them as they giggled.

"I know," Alison said, smiling softly to herself.

* * *

Alison followed Emily as they walked through the police station, heels tapping against shiny, reflective floor tiles. It felt all too familiar; she'd walked behind uniformed officers wearing the same shade of blue so many times in Rosewood.

It wasn't anything to be proud of, for sure, but she claimed it like she and her friends claimed everything else that happened to them in their hometown, wearing each incident like an old battle scar.

"Do you have any new leads on who broke into our house?" Emily asked as they walked.

The officer guided them to the detective, a woman who looked softer and less stern than what Ali anticipated. (To be honest, she half-expected Tanner would somehow make an unwelcome entrance, just for old time's sake.)

The detective ushered them into a room with a table and chairs and closed the doors behind them. Alison eyed the camera hanging in the corner of the room. It twitched slightly with every step she took.

Another familiar feeling consumed her. They were being watched.

"There were no signs of forced entry," she told Emily. "We did find the window near the top of the basement was left unlocked, so it's possible someone fairly small was able to squeeze through."

"We were, however, able to identify the body as Laura Royce," she continued.

An eerie silence fell over the room.

It was awful and frightening and yet, totally expected. Alison cleared her throat, trying to find the words to speak. "Then it's even more important for you to find out who's behind this and why. Laura's been missing for months. Whoever had access to the body had plenty of time to plan their next move."

Emily nodded as Alison spoke. "She's right. There's no telling where this creep is now."

"We'll place extra patrol around your house if that makes you feel better," the detective said as she sat down at the table, clasping her hands together. "We discovered a cell phone in her pocket. It seems to have water damage to the point of not working any longer, but we're working on restoring it, which brings me to my next line of questioning."

Emily eyed the seats at the table and chose to remain standing. "What kind of questions?"

"Coincidentally, Laura went missing right around the time your house was leased," she said, in a tone that said she didn't think it was a coincidence at all. "And looking at the database and seeing both your police records…"

Suddenly the detective didn't seem so harmless.

"Don't waste your breath asking us anything," Alison interrupted, cheeks reddening in anger, "because we're not answering without a lawyer present."

"I'm not accusing you of anything," the detective said slowly. "We're simply trying to make connections here. Find out why you specifically were targeted."

"Whoever did this has to be connected to the other woman who was murdered a few months before Laura went missing, right?" Emily asked to draw the attention off of them.

"Not necessarily," the detective said. "That investigation was completely different. She was found dead in an apartment after having been missing only 75 hours, not 75 days. There were indications pointing toward suicide, and that's not the case here."

"Yeah, well we weren't connected either, until someone dragged us into it," Emily pointed out.

The detective grabbed a file folder on the edge of the table. A picture poked out the side, and in the little slither that was visible, Alison could make out an orange splash of color and a wisp of blonde hair.

Without seeing it, she already knew what it was: her mugshot, from when she was arrested at 17 for Mona's supposed murder. Just thinking of it made her feel nauseated.

"Are we free to leave whenever we need to?" Alison asked, words coming out in a rush. "We came here to make a statement about what we experienced, not to be interrogated."

"I'm not forcing you to stay, though I think it would be in everyone's best interest."

"Emily, I think we should go," Alison said, tugging her fiancee's arm toward the door.

"Hold on. Please, just for a minute?" Emily asked her, holding her hand and interlocking their fingers.

Alison willed herself to stay calm. "Okay," she nodded.

The brunette looked back at the detective expectantly. "What exactly do you want from us? We don't know anything about Laura. We're just as confused as you are."

"Let's start with your experience in Pennsylvania," the detective said, opening the folder and pulling out Alison's mugshot, followed by Emily's and a horde of stapled news stories dotted yellow with highlighter marks.

"Seriously?" Alison asked in disbelief. Heat rushed to her cheeks again, from embarrassment this time.

"If you read any of the articles, you'd know we got charged for a murder that never even happened. And here I was thinking the police were only incompetent in Rosewood," she said, muttering the last part under her breath, letting go of Emily's hand and storming out of the room with one final glare at the detective.

Emily looked after her but didn't follow. Alison waited on the outside of the door, back against the wall as she took deep breaths to bring her heightened heart rate back to a normal pace.

"You're blaming the victims here," she heard Emily tell the woman in a firm voice.

"Once again, I'm not trying to blame anyone," the detective clarified with an exasperated sigh. "What I'm interested in is finding out exactly what happened to you to see if there's any chance the threats you faced in Pennsylvania followed you here. The safety of our town is at stake."

With one final drawn out breath, Ali mentally prepared herself to walk back in until she heard Emily ask, "Did you read the articles?"

She stopped again and turned slightly toward the door to listen.

"I skimmed…"

"Well, did you read the part where I was kidnapped and held in a bunker for three weeks, not even two hours after that mugshot was taken?"

The detective fell silent, and Emily cleared her throat.

"Did you read about how my fiancée sacrificed everything to take care of her sister, our tormentor, despite all the horrible things she did? All because she doesn't give up on family, she cared for her for five years and gave her a second chance even though she didn't deserve one," Emily continued.

"Miss Fields…I'm not sure what you're getting at here."

"My point is, we're not bad people," Emily said. "But Alison's right, we need lawyers if we're going to be treated like suspects."

Alison's heart thumped in her chest. So much for the deep breathing to slow it down. She stayed near the door, still as a statue until Emily walked out, looking a little annoyed but mostly exhausted. Her eyes softened when she saw the blonde.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Emily asked her.

"Pretty good," Ali said, tugging on the edge of her sleeve. "I overheard what you just said, about me staying with Charlotte. I never heard anyone talk about it like it was a good thing."

"I didn't agree with your choice, and for good reason," Emily responded honestly, "But the way you forgave her and chose to help her heal- that was noble. You were way more selfless than I could've been in that situation. I just wish she was worth it."

"You think I'm selfless?" Ali asked as her heart started racing faster.

"Ali, I know you're selfless," Emily promised her. "You've sacrificed so much for me. More than I ever could've expected."

And just like that, Ali could feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach, still fluttering as strong as they did the night they first got together. Despite all her anger over their current situation, the only thing on her mind for a moment was how badly she wanted to pull Emily into the nearest supply closet and kiss her until they were both weak in the knees.

But they were still in a police station, after all.

Instead, she had another thought, a fleeting one that came to her off and on and needed to finally be verbalized. "There's something I want to tell you. I've been keeping it a secret."

"A secret?" Emily asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"It's nothing bad, I promise," Ali told her, taking her hand and guiding her around the corner into another empty hallway. They only got a few feet down the walkway before Alison gave into temptation and leaned up to quickly kiss Emily, who reciprocated without hesitation.

Emily ran her fingers through blonde hair before resting her hand on Ali's cheek. Still holding her close, she broke the kiss to touch her forehead to her fiancée's.

"What was that for?" she asked lightly. "Not that I'm complaining, but there's cameras and officers all over the place and you were just mentioning secrets…"

"Yeah, I know this isn't an ideal place or time…but it needs to be said," Ali decided. "I've been thinking about our families and what they mean to me. Your family is mine. More a part of who I am than my own family."

"Is this about your dad?" Emily asked.

"I feel no loyalty to the DiLaurentis name," Ali said, indirectly answering her question. "I wanna be Alison Fields, because it's your name, and your mother's and your father's."

"Oh," Emily said, blinking in surprise. "What about Lily and Grace? We put DiLaurentis-Fields on their birth certificates."

"Better to change it before they start school," Ali said. She looked at Emily, trying to gauge her reaction but coming up empty. "What, you don't like that idea?"

"I didn't say I don't like it. It's your name; you can choose whatever makes you happy."

Something felt off. Her reaction wasn't what Alison expected. It was almost hollow. Detached, like Alison had been feeling off and on lately.

"Em, talk to me," Ali said, biting her lip.

"We are talking," Emily said, sounding almost too calm and composed. "If you want to be Alison Fields, I support that 100 percent. But you should only change it because you want to, not because you feel ashamed of being a DiLaurentis or because of baggage. The crime records are attached to my name, too."

"I promise that's not my only reason. It's what I want," Alison told her.

"Okay," Emily said with a gentle smile, but it wasn't long until she looked back down the hallway, in the direction of the interrogation room. A man was near the door now, holding a little girl in his arms. Emily's expression turned back to a frown and a worried crease appeared between her brows.

"If there's something on your mind, you can tell me," Ali said.

Emily was usually the one to power through tough situations and give her support when it felt like the world was spiraling out of control. And between their house becoming a crime scene, her clueless father badgering her over the phone and one person after another digging up the past and alluding to her Rosewood history, Ali felt overdue for a long venting session.

But she got the impression Emily might need one first.

"I'm honestly not sure what I feel right now," Emily said. Her eyes flashed back to Alison. "I hate that this happened. Our home is supposed to be safe. We're supposed to be safe. And it's happening on the worst week possible."

"Why is it the worst week possible?" Alison asked in concern. "Your midterms?"

"Oh God, I forgot about that," she said rubbing a hand over her face. With a deep breath, she said, "But to answer your question, it's only a few days until the 15th."

' _Beware the ides of March'_ was Ali's first thought. Julius Caesar was required reading for her students. Then she looked to the end of the hall again, where the father and daughter were still waiting near the door, and it clicked.

The anniversary of Wayne Field's death. That's why Emily suggested Alison make amends with her own father and the reason Pam was already planning on visiting this week, even before the police investigation prompted her to fly in a few days sooner.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize…" she said, regretful she hadn't remembered. And, God, bringing up the last name topic and mentioning Mr. Fields while doing so was even worse timing than she'd originally thought.

"It's okay," Emily told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about me. It's not important right now."

"Of course it's important," Alison started to say, but before she could get too far, Emily's phone started ringing and a picture of Pam appeared on the screen.

"I'd better take this and make sure the kids are okay," Emily said, picking up the phone to answer it. Ali could hear Pam's voice on the line, interrupted by sounds of static breaking in. "I might get a better connection outside. I'll be right back, okay?" she told Ali.

Ali stood in place after she walked away, internally berating herself for forgetting mid-March was the most difficult time of the year for Emily, along with military holidays. Just like the second week of November would always be tough for Alison, bringing back memories of standing in the front yard hiding under a hoodie as her mother's body was pulled from ground.

The blonde decided that if she had the power to time travel, the first thing she'd do aside from making amends with everyone she hurt would be to fly to California during Emily's sophomore year of college and be there for her during the darkest period of her life, when she shut herself off from the world to the point where no one even knew how badly she was hurting.

Alison sighed to herself and took to pacing through near-empty hallways to get back to the waiting room when Emily didn't return immediately. Just a few turns away from the main entrance, she passed a door left slightly ajar and caught sight of a familiar missing poster inside, surrounded by other pictures of Laura Royce she'd never seen before.

Walking through that door could land her in trouble, but as soon as she saw it, she knew there was no other option. Old habits die hard.

She slinked through the door, keeping as quiet and stealthy as possible, and examined the investigation board. Old high school pictures of her and Emily were at the corner of the board. Alison grimaced, knowing those pictures came from old reports and were undoubtedly the first images to come up if someone searched their names.

There was nowhere she and Emily could run to that would completely free them from their history. All it took was a little bit of digging. A five second Google search.

She stepped closer to the board to look at the sticky notes by their pictures. Only the most basic information was there, including their home address and a note about the date the body was discovered. In a tiny scrawl at the bottom, someone noted Lily and Grace's presence at the crime scene.

Ali didn't know if that helped or hurt their perceived innocence in the eyes of the police, but it made her blood run cold in fear that someone might think she couldn't protect her children.

Following the red line connecting them to the middle of the board, her eyes landed on the pictures of Laura. She had medium brown hair, wavy in some pictures like in the missing poster and straight in others. One picture showed her at 13, smiling behind a birthday cake while a little girl, maybe a friend or a younger sister, hugged her side.

With bright eyes and a nice smile, she looked happy, but it occurred to Alison that she knew almost nothing about this person, aside from the fact she was alive once and now she was in a morgue.

She managed a family business, something with screen printing or signs; Alison couldn't quite remember. A lot of people knew her, but she and Emily didn't. So why were they targeted?

Other pictures were scattered around the board, unfamiliar faces of people who were undoubtedly a lot more involved in Laura's life than her. Near the middle, there was more barely legible writing that looked like one word jammed together. Ali squinted at it until she realized it was a long web address, labeled _personal blog_.

Without hesitation, Ali pulled out her phone and snapped a picture, hungry for answers or at least some kind of understanding of who this woman was. Did she get along with her family? Was she living the life she wanted, or did she yearn to run away and start over? Did she have someone who loved her unconditionally? What regrets haunted at night, and what wrong choices led her to a premature death?

People lock secrets away in private places. For Alison, it was a series of journals, twisted with skewed details just in case someone found them and tried gain access to her true thoughts. For Laura, maybe it was a website.

As Ali stuffed the phone back into her purse, the slow creak of the door from behind made her jump. She prayed it was Emily and not a cop here to scold her, but when she turned around, it was someone else entirely.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked, a sharp edge to her voice.

"I could ask you the same thing," Alison asked, only slightly relieved it wasn't an officer.

"I'm here to pick up my grandparents. They're meeting with the investigations division."

"Well, you should know why I'm here if you've watched the news the past few days," Ali told her, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Someone hid a body in my house the same night you were over."

"Not my problem," Rachel said, eyes drifting to the board. Her eyes widened at something and she immediately moved to stand in front of a high school graduation picture Alison hadn't recognized as her. She was smiling for once, wearing relatively heavy makeup and a cap and gown that wasn't dark in color.

Now that she knew it was Rachel, the resemblance was obvious. "Is that you, too?" Ali asked, pointing to the picture of the joyful little girl hugging Laura on her 13th birthday. The child resembled high school Rachel more than the young woman standing in front of her currently.

That broke Rachel's focus long enough for her to move and look at the picture, allowing Alison a glimpse of a sticky note labeled _anger management therapy_ near her graduation photo.

"Where'd you get the jacket?" Rachel asked instead of responding to the question, taking Alison off guard.

Taking in a deep breath, Alison said, "Like I told you, it was in the teacher's lounge at Covington High School."

"She was wearing it," Rachel said quietly, almost to herself. She was still looking at the childhood picture, and the memory seemed to make her soften.

"When?" Alison asked, stepping closer.

"Why don't you tell me?" Rachel said, spinning toward her. Her voice raised, getting too loud for comfort. "You were there that night, weren't you? I knew I heard someone."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alison snapped back.

"Hey!" a familiar voice called out. Emily burst through the door, heading right to Alison's side. "What are you doing here, Rachel? Why can't you have a normal conversation that doesn't end with you screaming at someone or storming out?"

An older cop ran in almost immediately after, following the source of the noise. "What's going on in here? This room is off-limits. Everyone out, now!"

He pointed at the hallway until the three of them were forced to leave, hanging their heads in shame and frustration and feeling like little kids being caught red handed.

A man and a woman with graying hair were in the waiting room looking in their direction- Rachel's grandparents if Ali had to guess. A gaunt looking woman probably in her mid-thirties, younger yet more frail than the older couple, stood beside them.

Emily started toward them, apparently not done with the conversation, but Ali stopped her.

"We don't need to talk to them," she said, pulling out her phone with the picture of the web address from the evidence board. "We have all we need right here to start our own investigation."

* * *

A/N: In response to a guest review on the last chapter: I appreciate the criticism and absolutely see where you're coming from. I think the conversation they overheard made more sense in my mind and I didn't do the greatest job of translating the thought process to written form. Keep in mind though, they are jumping to conclusions and can very well be wrong. I agree with you about Ali's past "relationships". She went on dates here and there and liked having control over people older than her (and probably felt out of control in many aspects of her life). Nothing serious or meaningful. I don't think she likes thinking about it, either.

Changing gears here, I'm excited to share more family scenes with Pam coming up :)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: My inconsistent updating schedule continues! I really have no excuse other than not having a lot of time alone to write. Thank you for the feedback for the last chapter. I do try to take some things into consideration, like balancing the mystery with relationship and family time. What about seeing the other liars next chapter? It's almost Easter in the story's timeline, and I think they need a reunion.**

* * *

With Emily's hand resting over her eyes and an arm gently looped around her waist, guiding her forward, Alison recalled walking into her old bedroom back in Rosewood and seeing the beginnings of the twins' nursery. She smiled and wondered what kind of surprise awaited her this time.

"I feel like I'm about to walk into the wall," Alison said, blindly reaching one arm out in front of her as the other clutched the stack of lesson plans she'd worked on for the past several hours.

Catching up on paperwork at the high school wasn't her preferred way to spend a Sunday, but it was necessary after taking a few days off to get the body situation sorted. She returned home ready to switch from teacher mode to investigator mode and find out all she could about Laura.

She'd just reached the front porch when Emily stepped outside and told her to close her eyes.

"You're not walking into anything. I've got you," Emily said as Alison heard the front door close behind her.

"So when am I allowed to see the big surprise?" Ali asked, drawing her hand back to rest over Emily's arm because she trusted the other woman to guide her wherever they were going. Anticipation was building within her, but part of her didn't want to open her eyes and let go. She loved being pressed up against Emily like this, feeling warm and safe.

"Don't raise your expectations too high. It's just a little surprise, at least for right now," Emily answered.

"So I'm getting a big surprise later?"

"You'll just have to wait for it."

"Only I'm allowed to say that," Alison responded as she became aware of an alluring scent. Something delicious for dinner, though she couldn't put her finger on what it was. That alone was enough to brighten her day.

Then there was the distinct lack of noise. It was never _too_ quiet with the twins in the house. "Where are the girls? It's a little late for them to be napping."

"My mom took them to the park," Emily said, and Ali almost got her hopes up until the brunette apologetically added, "But the sun's going down soon, so they'll be back before long."

"How much time do you think we have?" Ali asked, trying to crunch numbers in her head until Emily uncovered her eyes and she forgot about everything except the scene in front of her.

Dinner was on the table- chicken penne pasta in a vodka cream sauce reminiscent of her go-to order at her favorite French café in town. Two wine glasses were set up next to it, waiting to be filled, and a smaller plate of the side held pastries for dessert.

A few candles were on the table next to the flowers Pam sent them. Other than that, the room was completely empty and free of clutter. The whole house was clean, she realized as she glanced into the living room and saw spotless floors free of toddler toys and clothes.

Alison couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. "There was seriously no need to downplay this as a small surprise. This is amazing. Honestly," she said, grinning at her fiancée. "Did you cook this?"

"I won't lie, the pastries were store bought," Emily said, "but I made the pasta. Does it look okay?" she asked, fidgeting with her hands nervously.

"Em, it's perfect," Ali assured her, leaning over to kiss her cheek and grabbing both of her hands. "My day just got a thousand times better. Come on, sit down with me."

Emily followed her to the table, took the seat beside her and poured some wine in both their glasses. "I was feeling restless, so I wanted to do something worthwhile," she explained. "I know a lot of the housework has been falling on you when I have homework. I don't mean for it to be that way."

"It's okay. You've had a lot going on," Alison told her gently before scooping up some pasta and closing her eyes as she savored the taste.

"It's good?" Emily asked, smiling at her as she leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands.

"I'm just impressed you didn't start a fire."

"Shut up," Emily rolled her eyes playfully. "As much as you bring that up, you'd think it happened more than once."

"Yeah, but that one time was on our anniversary," Alison reminded her, taking another bite. "On the bright side, it made the day pretty unforgettable."

Emily nodded slowly, deep in thought. "What do you want to do for our anniversary this year?"

"It falls the same weekend as Covington's prom. I'm sure we'll figure something out," Alison said.

"Next year we'll be celebrating our anniversary in October," Emily noted.

"For the rest of our lives," Ali agreed. "God, I can't wait."

The way Emily looked at her after she said that set off fireworks inside her. For the first time in a while, everything felt perfect and normal. She didn't realize how badly she needed to sit down and have a lighthearted meal, alone and content with the person she loved.

"Hey, we never finished talking about what you said at the police station," Emily said. "About taking my last name."

"Yeah? Did you want to discuss it more?" Alison asked, waiting for her to continue.

"I know it didn't seem like it back there," Emily said, fidgeting with her hands again, "but I honestly do like the idea. A lot. Like I said before, my family is yours, wholly and completely. I know my dad would agree if he were here."

"That means a lot to me," Ali said in a low voice, a near whisper, because she was suddenly feeling choked up and emotional and she wasn't sure why. She took Emily's hand in her own, tracing circles over her skin. "Our parents would be proud of us. I wish my mom and your dad were here to see us together meet their granddaughters. I think about that all the time."

"Me too," Emily sighed. "More often than I should."

"It's okay to remember him, you know. You don't have to avoid talking about him, especially not this week. Have you and your mom made any plans for the fifteenth?"

"No, not really. It's been five years. You just have to move on at some point," Emily said. Alison could feel her hands start to tremble.

Emily must've noticed the concerned look Alison was giving her because she pulled her hands back and clasped them in front of her. "It's fine, though. We don't need to talk about it. I can think of better ways to spend our time while we have the house to ourselves…"

Alison looked out the window blinds at the darkening sky and tried calculating how long it takes to drive back from the park.

"We would only have a few minutes, tops," she said.

"A lot can happen in a few minutes."

"As tempting as that offer is, I've put a lot of effort into getting on your mom's good side, and I'm not slipping up now," Alison said, standing up to put her dish in the sink.

"Later," she whispered, leaning back to kiss the spot near Emily's ear.

* * *

An hour later, the five of them set up camp in the living room, notebooks at their sides, laptops and phones on private browsing mode, and Laura's personal website pulled up on every device.

Grace had her toy tablet to conduct her own research. Every time Alison or Emily would get each other's attention to share something they read, Grace would point to the alphabet letters and animals on her tablet screen as if she'd made the biggest breakthrough of all.

"Ma-mee!" she shouted, tugging on Alison's sleeve. "I goddit!"

"Wow, that's right Grace, you got it!" Alison told her, keeping her voice bright and cheery for her daughter's benefit as she leaned over and quickly turned the volume down on the tablet until it was at a reasonable level. It was hard to focus with ABC's playing loudly on a constant loop.

Lily was on the floor with Pam, focusing her energy on trying to stack blocks around her toy cars and grunting in frustration every time they toppled over.

There were a lot of entries on Laura's blog, most of them old, and they'd never get to the end if they continued at their current pace. All they'd gotten so far were some vague posts about occasional travels, on-and-off relationships and poems that were well-written yet hard to decipher. Some had a sad undertone.

It felt a little too familiar to Alison. Even when writing in her diary all those years ago, she'd had her guard up just in case someone managed to get a little too close to her deepest self.

"She was holding back in these recent posts," Alison said. "We need to dig further into the older archives."

"How will reading posts from ten years ago help us figure out what was going on in her life a few months ago?" Emily asked, and Ali hesitated to answer. She had a point. But Alison still wanted to know what kind of person Laura was.

"You never know. That past could affect a lot," Alison said, shrugging. "This goes back to 2008. She was a year or so older than us, so she would've been about 15 at the time. Everyone overshared on the Internet back then. There has to be something here."

"Okay, what about I cover the past few years, up to the last entry from this past November, and you cover her college years?" Emily suggested. "We should search there before digging into the high school posts."

"I'll just scroll and let you know if I see anything," Pam interjected, holding up her phone to show them she was willing to help, too.

"Fine by me," Alison said, finding 2012 in the archives.

Laura's first posts from that year seemed all too normal, recounting new experiences at college parties and a boyfriend she was deliriously happy about, along with posts about how nice it was to feel free.

The freedom theme came up a lot. Ali tried to read between the lines. Were her parents suffocating her at home? Laura talked about English classes in her post, about entering writing contests and ambitions to live and teach in famous cities overseas. Yet she ended up living and dying in her little home town.

Against her better judgement, Ali clicked back into the archive to Laura's oldest posts to find out more about her family and the business that Laura would eventually end up working for. These entries were much longer than recent posts and were difficult to read due to a lack of paragraph breaks, so Alison scrolled through, looking mainly at pictures until one stopped her in her tracks.

It was a picture of what appeared to be a summer vacation, with a teenage Laura all smiles in a bikini and baseball cap with her arm wrapped around a preteen girl in a white coverup.

Alison read the first few sentences under the image.

 _I'm not one for the water. I never was a good swimmer, but I love spending time on the beach with my favorite Sissy. It's hard to believe she's almost as tall as me now when only a few years ago, I was hiding her dolls so I wouldn't be embarrassed when my friends came over and saw all the kid's toys in our room. Now I find myself wishing she was little and innocent again. Never grow up, Rach._

"Wait, was Laura Rachel's sister?" Alison asked, looking over at Emily.

"Sis," Grace repeated, standing up on the sofa to point at Lily.

"That's right, Lily's your sister and you love her so much," Emily smiled at Grace before turning back to Alison and furrowing her eyebrows. "They weren't sisters; they were aunt and niece who weren't too far apart in age. Rachel said they weren't close growing up. Her mom was basically excluded from the family after getting pregnant with her, or at least that's how I interpreted it.

"It's hard to tell when she can barely hold a conversation for two minutes," Emily muttered under her breath.

"It looks like they were close," Alison said, turning the laptop so the brunette could see the picture. "They shared a room, and Laura called her Sissy."

"Let me see," Emily said, coming over and grabbing the laptop. Ali was grateful she didn't comment on her looking up a post from well before Laura's college years. "Rachel lied about this. She could be lying about everything."

"Did you find anything yet?" Alison asked. "Any mention of Rachel in the more recent entries?"

"No, not even one reference to her," Emily said. "All I got is that she didn't enjoy being around her parents all the time at work. She was trying to save up to get away and said she might need financial help from someone else."

Emily turned to look at Alison. "Did you happen to see anything about her college graduation?"

"No, I haven't gotten there yet. Why?"

"Oh no, that's not good," Pam chimed in, and both women turned to look at her. "Listen to what she wrote here: _My dearest, losing you is the worst I've ever felt, and falling to rock bottom isn't as poetic as people make it seem. It's been a year, and I still can't get out of this hole. Every day I imagine_ -"

"Who is she talking about, and when was this written?" Emily interrupted.

"Emily, be patient," her mother told her. "It's from 2016, by the way," she said before continuing to read.

" _Every day I imagine what you'd be doing and what milestones you'd be reaching. By now, you'd be walking and climbing all over the furniture. I'd teach you how to speak and read you stories every night. You never had a chance to experience life, and it's just not fair that I get to be here and you don't."_

"She lost a child," Alison said, immediately feeling her heart well up with emotion.

"I can't even imagine how awful that must feel," Emily said, looking equally sympathetic.

"It keeps going," Pam said, reading once more. " _I know I'm supposed to move on. Find the silver linings in life. Learn to forgive. But you're not here, and I can't forgive myself. I can't forgive her. I won't. She chose to run that red light after I told her to stop, and that decision took you from me. Family or not, there's no coming back from that."_

"Is she…talking about Rachel?" Alison asked with uncertainty as she looked for that particular post in the archive. "Did she get in a car accident with Laura and the baby in the car?"

"It could be her, or Laura's mother, or some other family member we haven't encountered yet," Emily said. She pulled her arms around herself and watched as Lily played with toy cars on the ground.

"I don't see any baby pictures," Pam noted. "I hardly see anything at all aside from a few pregnancy updates. Poor girl might've miscarried or had a stillbirth."

"We need to read more," Alison decided. "We're making a lot of guesses."

Pam nodded. "Either way, she lost someone, and grief is a powerful feeling. You never completely come back to yourself."

"Yeah, we know," Emily said in a quiet voice.

She looked distracted for a minute, staring off into space, but she refocused when Lily toddled over to her, rubbing at a thin line of sweat covering her tiny forehead. "Mama, bo-bo," she whimpered, looking up at her with big brown eyes.

"What's wrong, Lilybug? Your head hurts?" she asked, setting her on her lap and frowning when she rested a hand to her forehead. "I hope you're not getting sick. Come on, let's get you some medicine," she said, standing up with the little girl in her arms and heading for the medicine cabinet.

When she was gone, Alison and Pam exchanged a glance. "How is she holding up?" Pam asked, and Alison knew they weren't talking about Lily.

"I don't know," Alison sighed. When she spoke again, she made sure to keep her voice quiet. "I wish she would talk to me about losing her dad. This time of year is hard for her. It must be hard for you, too."

"Her father was the same way; he looked out for other people before asking for help himself," Pam said. She looked up to see if Emily was within earshot, then said, "But I do have something planned for this week. Maybe you can help me with that."

"I'm all ears," Alison replied.

Whatever the plan was, she hoped it would get Emily to open up.

* * *

Covington High School, typically crowded with students, was relatively quiet Tuesday afternoon for parent teacher conferences.

Emily was still in her swim team outfit as she walked in the door of Alison's classroom, holding Grace in her arms. Tears were stuck to her little cheeks, flushed red from crying.

"I'm the worst person in the world because I won't let her jump into the pool," Emily explained. "Can she stay here? I have another parent coming soon, and she's making me nervous."

"She can stay here," Ali said. She reached her arms out to hold their daughter and Grace leaned over eagerly, apparently still upset with Emily for not allowing her to drown.

"You have to be good, okay?" Ali told the toddler, touching the tip of her nose lovingly.

"I'm worried about Lily," Emily said as set Grace's diaper bag on a desk and pulled out some toys to keep her entertained.

"I know, but she's in good hands with your mom. It's just a little sinus congestion, and we're doing everything we can to make sure Grace doesn't catch it," Ali said. She settled back by her desk, balancing Grace on her lap, and noticed a folded piece of paper that hadn't been there that morning.

Not knowing what to expect, she grabbed it and unfolded it.

 _Sorry about last week. I was hurt that you made those assumptions, but you deserve an explanation. Maci's been coming to my room in the mornings to talk about her mother. You'll see what I mean. I saw her name on the conference sign-up sheet. – Kyle_

"Em, read this," Alison said, handing it to her.

Emily looked over the words, biting her lip as she considered them. "Okay, so do we think this has some truth to it, or is it a BS excuse?"

The door creaked loudly as it opened, drawing them away from their thoughts. Emily folded the note in her hand and stuck it in her pocket.

A well-dressed middle aged woman walked into the classroom. Alison had never seen her before, but there was familiarity in her eyes and the shape of her nose.

Definitely Maci's mom.

"I didn't realize this was a daycare," the woman said with a strained smile, eyeing Grace as she walked over to the desk. Before Alison could respond, she extended a hand. "I'm Lucinda, Maci's mother."

"I'm Ms. DiLaurentis," Alison said, shaking her hand. She nodded toward Emily. "And this is Coach Fields. Maci's on swim team, right?"

"Oh yes, but I arranged a meeting with the _head_ coach, not the assistant," Lucinda said as she turned her back to Emily and sat down. Alison saw the brunette roll her eyes in response.

Kyle's note was starting to have some credibility, Ali thought.

"I'd prefer we conduct this meeting _privately_ ," she said, putting emphasis on the last word. On cue, Emily walked over and picked up Grace, taking her back out of the room with a not so subtle sigh.

Alison bit her tongue and pulled out her file folder to go over Maci's grades and discuss her academic standing.

"Your daughter is a very bright student," Alison told her as she flipped through her graded assignments. She looked up to see the woman visibly relax and smile in response. "Her essays are always well organized, and she consistently performs well on tests."

Ali paused to take a breath and brace for the negative reaction that would result from what she was going to say next.

"What I am concerned about is her attendance. She misses class a lot, and even though she keeps up with her school work, she'll still be at risk for having to repeat eleventh grade if she continues on this path."

"I don't understand those regulations. If I choose to keep my daughter home, there's a good reason for it," Lucinda said.

"Well, that's the thing," Alison said, twirling a pen in her hand anxiously. "She'll miss class, but I'll see her in the hallways at other points during the day, so it's not just the days you keep her home that she's missing. And it makes me wonder where she goes during those times. Last week, I noticed something that worried me…"

"Oh, so you're the one," Lucinda commented so quietly Ali barely heard it.

"Excuse me?"

"She told me about you," Lucinda said. "She said a teacher singled her out in the hallway when she turned in assignments to another instructor before school hours. I understand you think you're doing your job, but it's none of your concern. My daughter tells me everything that's going on in her life. Always has. If there was a problem, I'd know about it."

"Maybe, but teenagers can be secretive sometimes," Ali pointed out.

"Listen, Ms. DiLaurentis, I say this respectfully, but you look like you're barely more than a child yourself. You might be a mother, but you haven't experienced raising a teenager," the older woman said as she set her hands on top the desk.

She looked Ali straight in the eye, intense and serious, passing off every word as fact rather than opinion. "I know everything about my daughter. I'm her biggest advocate, and I'd do _anything_ for her if she finds herself in trouble. And, yes, every kid gets in trouble at some point. Except in this case, Maci is doing well in class, so I see no issue here."

"She is doing well. It's her attendance-"

"I see no issue here," the woman repeated firmly.

* * *

The master bathroom was one of Emily's favorite spots in their rental house. It looked like the owner had set out to do renovations, installing a walk-in shower with stone floors, a jacuzzi tub and two vanity mirrors, before realizing they'd spent too much money on one room and neglected to finish updating the rest of the house.

The dated aspects didn't bother Emily at all, but this room felt special, and when she was alone here with Alison, it always felt like they were on vacation at a luxurious resort.

She loved the coolness of the floor against her bare feet and how the lights surrounding the mirror made everything look flattering.

But mostly, she loved seeing Alison sit in front the vanity, hair still damp from showering and only half dressed as she reached for her makeup bag.

"She thinks her kid can do no wrong," Alison said, continuing their mutual venting session about the high school. "It's infuriating."

Emily stood behind her fiancée and ran a brush through her hair, smiling to herself when she caught Alison closing her eyes contentedly through her reflection in the mirror. "She's her mother. Of course she's going to be biased. But I can't argue against her being obnoxious."

"She was obnoxious," Alison agreed, opening her eyes only for them to drift downward, looking at Emily's legs reflected in the mirror.

"What are you looking at, Ali?" Emily teased her lightly as she continued pulling the brush through her long hair in gentle sweeping motions.

"You're wearing nothing but a T shirt that barely covers anything. I think you wanted me to stare," Ali said with a barely concealed smirk.

"Hmm, maybe," Emily hummed, tracing a finger along the outline of Ali's neck down past her shoulder. "You know I love you, right?"

"I've known since we were 14," Alison said, sounding satisfied with herself. "And I love you, too."

"So are you going to tell me where we're going tonight?" Emily asked, and Alison raised an eyebrow in response.

"What do you mean?" she asked, feigning innocence. "It's a weekday."

"Yeah, and what other reason is there to take a shower at 5 in the evening unless we're getting ready to go somewhere?"

Alison stood up and turned to face Emily, and the distance between them was so small, so easy to close.

The brunette pulled her into a quick but heated kiss, relishing the way the other woman made her feel. After the week they'd had, she didn't want to feel anything else.

After they'd pulled back, Emily returned to the previous topic of discussion. "If we're going somewhere, tell me so I can be prepared. You know I hate surprises," she said, only half serious.

"We're not going anywhere. Not really," Alison said vaguely before turning back to the vanity.

"Alison. Come on."

"The shower was just to unwind and relax before our babies wake up," Ali explained as she pulled out a bottle of foundation and dabbed a drop of it onto her skin. "And you're right, there is _something_ planned, but it wasn't my idea, so there's no need to badger me about it."

"My mom planned whatever-it-is?" Emily asked, feeling her breath catch in her chest and a feeling of nervousness creep up on her. Tomorrow was the fifteenth. There were certain emotions attached to that day she'd rather not feel at all right now.

"It's a big week for both of you," Ali said, looking up at her. "I know it's not what you wanted, but promise me you'll at least hear her out. I think it'll be good for you."

Neither of them were strangers to grief. After they started dating, Ali confided in her about how she slept with a framed picture of her mom near her bed every night for almost two years after she passed away, just to feel safe. The same picture of Jessica DiLaurentis now sat on the mantle above the fireplace, next to a photo of Wayne Fields.

Emily knew Alison understood how she felt, but she hadn't spiraled downward to the point of dropping out of school, bar hopping every night, and blowing through her inheritance in a matter of months.

But she'd faced countless other uphill battles, Emily reminded herself. If her fiancée could survive going to hell and back as a teenager, she could get through whatever her mother had planned. Emily sighed to herself and tried to relax.

"I'll hear her out," she agreed.

* * *

Lily rested her head into the crook of Emily's neck. Drowsy and sluggish from sickness, she wasn't interested in running around and playing as usual. Emily kissed the top of her head and noticed her dirty blonde hair was damp and matted from her fever breaking.

"Just wait, soon it's going to feel all better," Emily told her, rubbing circles on her daughter's back. "I promise you, Lily, everything starts to feel better after a while. A cold is probably the easiest thing to get over," she said, getting caught up in her own thoughts as she looked across the room at the picture of her father.

She bit her lip and turned away from it. Lily looked up at her with a sleepy and confused expression.

"Your bo-bo is gonna feel all better," she said, repeating the words in a way Lily could understand. The little girl only buried her head deeper into Emily's shoulder in response, as if she didn't believe the words.

Sometimes Emily wasn't sure about the healing powers of time, either.

She perked up at the sound of a car pulling onto gravel. Her mom, Ali, and Grace must be back from wherever they went. They wouldn't tell Emily where they were going, but all she cared about now was that they were back, meaning she and Lily weren't alone anymore in a house she still didn't feel completely safe in.

Ali walked through the door, holding something wrapped in a bag. "We're going to the backyard. Your mom walked around the house."

"The backyard," Emily repeated, trying to make sense of the words. "What's in the bag?"

"Come on," Ali said, reaching for her hand without answering the question. "Let's go honor your father."

Emily took a deep breath and followed her to the door, concentrating on her steps. One, two, three, four… A simple pattern. The brunette willed herself to keep it together for her mom's and Ali's sake.

Walking outside, she tried to focus on the warmth of the springtime evening and Lily's weight against her shoulder and not her father's friendly smile or the way he'd hugged so tightly at the airport the last time she saw him.

She spotted her mother at the corner of the yard, next to a small potted tree standing about five or six feet tall. Pam Fields held a shovel in her glove-clad hands, and a few colorful flowers sat beside her in pots. Grace toddled around her on the ground, trying unsuccessfully to lift the flowerpots.

"Emily," her mother said, waving for her to come closer. "I'd hug you, but my hands are filthy," she told her apologetically, holding up her gloves.

"Is this for a memorial garden?" Emily asked, puzzled. "I don't understand. We're only going to be here a few months."

Ali gripped her hand supportively. "There's more to it."

"You know the website Pinterest?" Pam asked when they got closer.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm familiar with Pinterest."

"Well, I got an idea from it," Pam said. "Some people plant remembrance trees for fallen family members and soldiers. It'll live on in your father's memory."

"Then why plant it here and not in Rosewood, where you can look at it and think of him?" Emily asked.

"We can plant more than one tree," Alison reminded her. Unwrapping the item from the bag, she pulled out a rustic lantern built from white wood with an engraved glass paneling: _In memory of Lt. Col Wayne Fields – In our minds and in our hearts._

"People will rent this house after us," Alison said. "They'll keep coming and going, and all of them are going to see the tree and this lantern and know your dad's story. They'll know the memories we have of him."

Ali pulled out something else in the bag- a small notebook with writing on the first page. "Instead of lighting the lantern, we're putting this notebook inside of it, so we can share our thoughts, and people who stay here after us can add to it with memories of those they've lost."

"Almost like a guest book, but it's a memorial book instead," Pam chimed in, looking at Emily for her reaction.

It felt like the spotlight was on her, and Emily wasn't sure what to say. "I get it now," Emily said, nodding, feeling almost like she was floating somewhere far away. Half detached from what was happening. "Can I…Ali, can I read what you wrote about him?"

"Sure," Alison told her with a genuine smile, but she still seemed worried as she handed the journal, a hardcover blue notebook with a star on the front cover.

"Why don't we all sit down and talk? That's what I envisioned," Pam suggested. She pulled Grace onto her lap, settling onto the ground, as Emily did the same with Lily, sitting close to Alison so their sides were touching.

Her hands trembled slightly as she read what Ali had to say about her father.

"He was always kind to me," Ali said aloud as Emily read. "He made me feel welcome in your house, even when he was probably tired and wanting to spend quality time with just you and your mom. When the four of us sat down together for dinner one day, that year your family celebrated Thanksgiving a few days late, all I could think about was how much I wanted a family like that."

Ali paused, then added, "And I loved watching your eyes light up every time you talked to him on the phone, or realized he was coming home. It was so pure. Even a blind person could see how much you loved him."

Emily heard a sniffle and looked over to see tears spilling from her mom's eyes, and that in combination with Alison words made her blink back her own tears.

Alison handed her a pen, and she stared at the paper at first, unsure of what to write, watching as a couple of teardrops fell onto the page.

"I could never replace him," Pam said. "I see him all the time, in everything I do and everywhere I look. I see him in you."

Emily looked up, knowing she was the one her mother referred to.

"Emily, you asked why we would leave a memorial here and not in Rosewood. What you're not seeing is there's no final resting spot for him. He's everywhere, constantly moving wherever you go," Pam said, pausing to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"It's not just compassion you share. You're part of him. He's right there," she said, holding a hand over her chest. "That's where he lives in each of us. He can't really be gone as long as you still think about him. Those memories- they hurt, honey, they hurt me, too- but they're important. It means he was real, and he was here, and he mattered."

"I can't do this," Emily said, voice cracking as she handed the notebook back to Alison. "I can't put everything he was into words on a page. I can't."

The tears were flowing freely now. Her chest ached and she wasn't sure if she could manage to speak much more without relenting to full-on, gasping sobs. The painful kind.

Grace walked over, dropping the leaf she was inspecting to lay her had on Emily's knee as Lily repositioned herself in Emily's arms and pressed a big sloppy kiss to her Mama's cheek to make her feel better.

"It's okay Em, you don't have to write anything. It's okay," Alison repeated, laying her head on Emily's shoulder after Lily moved.

"It's too much to write," Emily said, closing her eyes and willing herself to speak. "I miss him. I miss him so much, and most days it feels like he's just somewhere overseas. But he's not."

When she opened her eyes, she didn't focus on the grassy backyard or the memorial. In a flash, her thoughts were back in time to when she was 10 years old and at an ice skating rink in the mall. She and her dad had been Christmas shopping for her mom, and she could feel the ice slippery under her skates, the chill in the air, and her father's arms holding her steady so she wouldn't topple over.

Realistically, Emily knew it was a memory. That happened sometimes. Always small, seemingly insignificant memories. But it always felt so real, so present, she could practically reach out and touch him. Her was here, right by her side for a moment.

Then the scene would disappear. So would her father.

"I'll never- I'm never going to speak to him again," Emily said, nearly choking over her words. "Lily and Grace will never know him."

Pam came over to her, taking off her gardening gloves and enveloping her from behind in a hug so they were all part of one big embrace. "They will if you let them. They're part of him, too, you know."

Ali started to pull back, perhaps thinking she was intruding on an intimate family moment, but Emily grabbed her hand and guided her back. "You're going to be a Fields too, Ali. You're part of this," Emily told her, allowing herself to smile slightly as she blinked through tears.

Alison snuggled in closer, laying her head on Emily's shoulder again, and the they were all quiet for a while.

"There's so much he did with me when I was little that I want to do with them," Emily said.

"Then write about that," Ali said, reaching for the notebook. "It's not everything your father was, but it's a start."

"Okay," Emily agreed, taking it and picking up a pen.

She wrote more than she anticipated, filling page after page, documenting memory after memory, as Pam and Alison removed the remembrance tree from its pot and found the perfect spot for it.

At some point, without Emily realizing it, evening gave way to night. Satisfied with their work, they all went inside with full hearts and peace of mind.

* * *

What do you guys think about the last section? It was a little difficult to write, but I hope it turned out okay!


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